This week in Animal Health: Virbac first-half revenue increases 7.8 percent

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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for July 18, 2025
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting News
Animal Health Jobs

Earnings News
ECO Animal Health
Virbac

Other News
BiomEdit
CUBEX
dsm-fermenich
Elanco
ElleVet Sciences
Harrison’s Bird Foods
Hill’s Pet Nutrition
Inspired Pet Nutrition
LongShanGee International Trade
MWI Veterinary Supply Co.
Petspan
PKB Animal Health
Sopral
Tai Wai Small Animal & Exotic Hospital
Urban Parrot Loft
Wag! Group
WaldoPet

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Animal Health Jobs
Virbac US Is Hiring – Grow Your Career in Animal Health

Looking to make a meaningful impact in companion animal health? Virbac US is hiring! As a global company solely focused on animal health, at Virbac we believe in growing together. Our culture encourages development through programs like Boost Your Mobility, offering opportunities to expand your career across roles, departments, and regions.

We’re looking for passionate professionals to join our team—whether you’re in sales, research, manufacturing, or support roles. If you’re driven by purpose and want to be part of a company committed to animal well-being, Virbac is the place for you. Click here to explore opportunities.

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EARNINGS NEWS RELEASES

• Virbac reported results for the first half of the year. Revenues were EUR 738 Million ($855 million), an overall increase of 5% including exchange rate effects. Growth came from integration of Sasaeah acquired in Japan in April 2024 and organic growth due to increased volume and prices. (finance.com)
• ECO Animal Health reported results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. Group sales were GBP 79.6 million ($106.9 million), a decline of 11%. Profit before tax increased 33% to GBP 4.0 million ($5.4 million), driven in part by disposals of non-core assets. (company press release)

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K- State Olathe
Animal Health Regulatory Affairs Conference
Sept. 16–18, 2025

The agenda for this fall’s Animal Health Regulatory Affairs Conference at K-State Olathe is now live — and it’s packed with industry leaders and regulatory experts. From AAFCO and FDA updates to global pharmacovigilance and biotech innovation, the 2025 conference features speakers from Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck Animal Health, Royal Canin and more. To see the full agenda and registration information, visit the conference website.

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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES

• Elanco Animal Health announced the release of NUPLURA PH+5 vaccine, developed to protect calves from several respiratory diseases. NUPLURA PH+5 is a Mannheimia haemolytica subunit vaccine in combination with a five-way modified live viral vaccine that is indicated for protection against infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) types 1 and 2, parainfluenza3 (PI3) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV). (beefmagazine.com)
• Hill’s Pet Nutrition announced the promotion of Yvonne Hsu as president effective July 1, 2025, succeeding John Hazlin. Hsu most recently served as president and general manager of Hill’s Pet NutritionS., where she led the division’s domestic operations. (petage.com)
• BiomEdit, an animal microbiome specialist, announced it is gearing up to launch their first engineered probiotic, having recently raised an $18.4 million Series B round. The round includes follow up investments and new participation investors. (com)
• PKB Animal Health, a division of Pet King Brands, announced their expanded veterinary line for Cats & Kittens. The Ear Cleanser, Ear Wipes, Ear Solution and Topical Cream provide care, comfort and relief for common ear and skin conditions. (company press release)
• CUBEX launched Buddy, an open access IoT device, that provides inventory automation to veterinary clinics by tracking real-time usage of full-facility inventory including hospital supplies such as syringes, no matter where it is stored in the hospital. (com)
• Wag! Group announced the sale of their Furscription business to MWI Veterinary Supply Co. The sale includes the Furscription brand, e-prescribing technology and related assets. The specific sale amount was not disclosed. (net)
• Petspan announced it is offering a virtual care protocol using rapamycin (also known as sirolimus) to treat cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The protocol includes a virtual cardiology consultation with a board-certified specialist, a compounded formulation of the prescription and follow-up monitoring. (com)
• WaldoPet has launched their integrated monitoring ecosystem and AI driven analytics platform. The company brings together several monitoring devices, at-home wearables and a cloud platform sharing real-time pet health data in both clinic and home environments. (company press release)
• ElleVet Sciences announced the launch of ElleVet Equine Pellets with CBD + CBDA, offering support for focus, stress, and mobility in recreational horses. (com)
• EU The European Food Safety Authority has confirmed that dsm-fermenich’s Animal Health & Nutrition’s vitamin D3 solution, Hy-D, is safe and effective in all species, including fish. This expands Hy-D’s use beyond poultry, swine and ruminants. (com)
• FRANCE UK-based Inspired Pet Nutrition announced it will acquire French company Sopral for an undisclosed amount. Sopral produces dry dog and cat food and is present in 50 countries. (Globalpets)
• CHINA Harrison’s Bird Foods announced the appointment of three exclusive distributors for Hong Kong and China: Urban Parrot Loft, LongShanGee International Trade LTD and Tai Wai Small Animal & Exotic Hospital. (company press release)

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ANIMAL HEALTH STOCK PRICE TRACKER

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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS

• US – EDUCATION Oklahoma State University received a $2 million dollar gift to the College of Veterinary Medicine from Dr. James and Elizabeth Wise, which established an endowed chair of veterinary ophthalmology. (com)
• US – AVIAN INFLUENZA The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially ended its emergency response to the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in early July.  The decision was based on a sustained decline in both animal infections and human cases. (com)
• US – TRIAL COURT CLAIM A judge in a New York Trial Court said that a dog qualified as an immediate family member under New York Law, allowing for a claim for negligent infliction of distress (NEID) to proceed. The case involving a leashed dog that was struck and killed while crossing through an intersection. Although the case itself did not involve veterinary medicine, the AVMA and New York State Veterinary Medical Society, along with other organizations, filed a brief opposing the noneconomic damages claim. The ruling is under appeal. (AVMA@work Blog)
• US – USEF WHITE PAPER A white paper summarizing the results of a March summit of veterinary professionals on best practices in sport horse medicine was released by the USEF this week.  The white paper includes areas of future research to advance equine animal health and inform evidence-based policy. (com)

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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
The largest pet product market is petfood, not animal health or veterinary services.  The July issue of Petfood Industry magazine list 111 petfood companies globally, but 4 companies represent half or more of all petfood sales – Nestle Purina, Mars, Hill’s and General Mills.  Nestle Purina and Mars, each with more than $22 billion in petfood sales, dwarf all other companies.  (Hill’s, in third place, has sales of about $4.5 billion.)  So petfood is even more concentrated than the animal health industry (pharmaceuticals, biologicals, diagnostics).

Interestingly, all of the large petfood companies are established consumer packaged goods companies.  General Mills was the most recent major CPG entrant with its purchase of Blue Buffalo in 2018.  Mars, one of the largest privately held companies, is also a major player in veterinary services and technology.  All of the largest petfood companies market therapeutic diets, and have large sales forces calling on veterinarians, many of which were highly rated in Brakke Consulting’s 2025 Sales Force Effectiveness Study.

It’s important to recognize that there’s an immense amount of competition for veterinarians’ time and attention from a variety of different suppliers.  What are you doing to earn your share?

John Volk

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YOUR VIEW
Last week we asked about ticks. 46% perceive 2025 as being a normal tick year. Surprisingly, 27% think ticks are less of a problem this year compared to 17% who think it’s worse. About a third said they would consider an oral (human) medication for tick control if available, the rest not so sure.

This week
This week let’s talk sports. On Tuesday major league baseball held its All-Star game and broke a tie after 9 innings with a novel technique – a home run derby with three swings for each of 3 players from each league selected in advance.

How did you like this new approach?