Recently, I traveled from my home in Florida to Tennessee to celebrate my aunt’s 96th birthday. During the long drive, I found myself thinking a lot about change and longevity. One thing my family has taught me in recent years is that you must be tough to make it into your 90s—and if you do, you’ve certainly witnessed a lifetime of change.

Leaving Florida, the heat already felt like mid‑summer. But as we drove north into the mountains, the world shifted to early spring—fresh green grass, budding trees, and cool air. Then one morning, we woke up to frost on the branches and freezing temperatures, a surprise I hadn’t packed for.

Change is expected, but it still manages to surprise us. The veterinary business is no different. People love their animals and will go to great lengths—and expense—to care for them. We continue to see approval of innovative products that give veterinarians new tools to help their patients. Yet at the same time, practices face pressure: clients’ budgets are stretched, and broader economic forces—fuel prices, tariffs, market volatility—affect both owners and clinics. Ambulatory veterinarians have watched their weekly fuel costs climb, and anyone who has traveled to a conference lately has felt the impact. Was this in your 2026 budget?

For me, the takeaway is simple: stay flexible, adapt to the changes, and enjoy the ride. And hopefully, live long enough to see even more of it.

Chuck Johnson, Senior Consultant  

It is my pleasure to announce that Brakke Consulting will make its debut at the BIO International Convention 2026, taking place this June in San Diego, California, and is a meaningful milestone for our firm and the clients we serve.

On June 22, in partnership with Abiquifi, Brakke will host the Brazil One Health Summit, an official satellite event of BIO 2026. A curated group of Brazilian animal health startups will present investment-ready technologies to an audience of industry leaders, MAPA representatives, executives, researchers, and investors from around the world.

Our objective is to advance Brazil’s standing as a strategic biotechnology hub while reinforcing its global leadership in the veterinary sector. The Summit is grounded in a One Health framework, integrating animal, human, and environmental health and will bring high-potential Brazilian innovations to international markets.

We invite you to attend for three compelling reasons. First, you will gain direct access to emerging Brazilian startups with technologies ready for investment and partnership. Second, you will have the opportunity to engage with key stakeholders including MAPA, ApexBrasil, Abiquifi, FINEP, and BNDES. Third, you will develop a deeper understanding of how Brazil’s unparalleled biodiversity and market scale create distinct advantages for validating new therapies and products.

I welcome the opportunity to share additional details. Please contact me directly. I look forward to connecting in San Diego.

Mauri Moreira
Senior Consultant, Brazil 

How would you rate the state of the industry? Up-due to increased pet populations, overall pet spending and recent strength in some livestock trends. Down- due to decreased veterinary visits, consumer-based pricing concerns, and consolidation leading to job losses.  Lots of mixed signals.

One area that seems to be growing is an explosion of industry groups. There are now associations related to therapeutic categories, groups related to women in the industry, those serving hospitals from accountants and architects to software providers and HR professionals. Undoubtedly, efforts to attract interest from outside the industry’s traditional core are paying off.

We’ve also seen a realignment of conference activity. While some local conferences have shrunk or disappeared, others have emerged. One incomplete list notes about 40 veterinary clinic focused conferences this year alone. And that doesn’t include livestock-related conferences or those focused on the ancillary areas supporting the broader animal health industry.

One that is coming soon is the August Nashville conference organized by Viticus Group, the company behind the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas. What’s motivating this bold move? Is it addressing an unmet need?  Will a central US location later in the year offer an attractive option?  We at Brakke are curious to see the attendance and energy that this debut conference brings.

Jeff Santosuosso

In a recent interview with the New York Time’s Athletic, Steve Kerr, coach extraordinaire of the Golden State Warriors, emphasized the importance of culture: Culture creates energy in times of success, and resilience in the face of adversity.

Culture matters. A positive workplace culture is the most important contribution an employer can make to employee wellbeing, according to the Merck Animal Health Veterinary Wellbeing Studies. Although these six studies were conducted over an 8-year period with veterinarians and team members, the results held whether the respondents were in a clinical or non-clinical setting (industry, academia). We believe culture drives wellbeing in all workplaces.

What attributes contributed most to a positive workplace culture?

• A strong sense of belonging to a team.
• A high degree of trust in the organization.
• Candid and open communication among team members.
• Sufficient time and opportunity to do quality work.

Do these characteristics define your workplace? It’s never too late to evaluate your culture.

On a different note, this is a solemn and happy time for believers. A time for family gatherings and celebrations. Today is the third day of Passover. Sunday is Easter. Muslims recently celebrated Eid al-Fitr. We wish you and yours a wonderful weekend, and hope for peace in the coming days.

John Volk

We turn to dogs for companionship, friendship and unconditional loyalty. Beyond psychological support, they may also hold the keys to healthy aging. On March 22, the CBS TV show, 60 Minutes aired a segment, “Why dogs are ideal for studying human aging”. It spotlighted the Dog Aging Project an initiative focused on unlocking secrets to a longer, healthier life for humans, and our furry friends.

Dogs are living longer due to healthier lifestyles, better diets and improved medical care and face many age-related diseases like ours, including dementia. Dogs’ brains are amazingly similar to ours thus making them great natural models for tracking how brain conditions naturally progress. Since dogs age faster than humans, the adage- one human year equals seven dog years- means researchers can observe  aging processes far more quickly and draw meaningful parallels.

The segment also highlighted Loyal, a company founded by Celine Halioua, developing drugs to aid in the healthy aging and life extension of dogs. Loyal has raised $250 million to fund its efforts to bring its pipeline products to market, notably LOY-002. To date, the FDA has accepted key safety data for LOY-002 and has granted a reasonable expectation of effectiveness, however results from the clinical trial won’t be known for several more years.

Our four-legged family members already enrich our lives. Now, they are paving the way for us to enjoy longer, healthier physical lives.

Randy Freides 

As mentioned in last week’s viewpoint, several Brakke consultants including myself participated in the AHNTI conference in London.

The event saw strong attendance, drawing nearly all major animal health companies and much of their senior leadership. Additionally, a wide range of affiliated organizations—including CDMOs, suppliers, and consultants —were present. 

The central theme was ‘Innovation,’ explored through a variety of engaging speakers and panel discussions. While innovation is crucial for industry growth, regulatory agencies face ongoing challenges to keep pace and ensure timely approval of new advances to the market. Investment is also a key component, particularly for independent startups, yet there remains a significant shortage of venture capital funding available within animal health to support them. 

In my opinion, unless we improve regulatory processes and expand investment opportunities, innovation in animal health will remain more of a discussion point than a reality. 

Paul Casady 

It was my pleasure this week to join my Brakke colleagues and many global animal health industry leaders in London for Kisaco’s Animal Health & Nutrition Technology and Innovation Conference.

The quality and quantity of presentations and conversations highlighted the strength of the animal health industry and its many innovation opportunities ahead.

A particularly refreshing presentation was a conversation facilitated by Kristin Peck, CEO of Zoetis, and Dr. Timothy Shell, Director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). Dr. Shell shared his vision for reforming the CVM’s animal health approval process, noting that FDA interactions will play a key role in determining how future innovations reach the market.

He touched on several proposed changes—cautioning these are not formal guidance and likely require 3–5 years to implement:

• Reducing average approval time from 10 years to 5 years
• Tripling MUMS approvals from 2 to 6 per year, with a voucher program for expedited review
• Extending conditional approval from 5 to 7 years for chronic diseases and including the CMC section
• Updating the user fee program to enable shorter reviews with applicable fees
• Evolving residue and toxicology regulations
• Leveraging foreign agency data and approvals, while addressing regulatory gaps within set timelines
• Utilizing AI to accelerate administrative processes

In closing, Dr. Shell stated that the CVM is evolving and encouraged companies never to pause or delay projects without first consulting the agency. This collaboration will support the timely introduction of valuable animal health products for pets and livestock.

Chuck Johnson DVM, MBA

When does “how much” become “too much”, when it comes to spending money on your pets?  Said another way- what dollar amount might make you pause when it came to veterinary care of your pet?

In a recent post from the Pet Business Professor, he shared a graph on Petflation through January 2026, using 2019 prices as the base, the US CPI sits at 26.6%, Total Pet at 29.1% and Veterinary Services as the highest at 49.6%.  GULP… that’s almost twice of CPI but the visual is what is really striking. While most categories made steady regular treks upward the steep and continuing climb in veterinary is shocking.

You’ve all seen the data- veterinary visits are down, practices are feeling it.  For many pet owners the cost of care is a real challenge with a recent study of US Pet owners stating 7 in 10 owners skipped veterinary care this past year due to cost.

Financial conversations for anyone are never easy but recent studies show that disclosing personal financial information can alleviate anxiety.   Working as a veterinarian, I’m faced with financial discussions with clients regularly- I’ve never shied away from the conversation- but I have found myself taking a deep breath a bit more often lately because I’m brushing up on what would be my own personal “too much” more than ever before. I’m not sure where the answers and solutions will come from but I’m confident that this industry will be able to meet this challenge too.

Dr. Christine Merle

The Western States Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas this week featured a vibrant atmosphere in the exhibit hall, with our Brakke Consulting team delivering another well-attended presentation on the state of animal health and the future of innovation. By the way, global growth of animal health companies last year might be greater than you think – probably over the 10-year CAGR of 5+%.  Although 2025 presented notable challenges in the companion animal segment, particularly with visits to veterinary clinics, livestock performance was strong, which we are happy for.  Our individual meetings, engagements with industry leaders, and interactions at the Veterinary Angel Network for Entrepreneurs (VANE) social event reflected a prevailing sense of optimism for 2026 — albeit a cautious one in certain views. There is renewed enthusiasm for innovation and strategic partnerships, alongside a growing acknowledgment of the comprehensive value of have both livestock and companion animal businesses in the portfolio of animal health companies. And we are eager to assist animal health companies of all scales, especially start-ups, to realize your objectives and milestones for 2026.

Dr. Alexis Nahama

Going to AHNTI in London? Reach out to connect with Brakke while you are there.

Mark Twain is credited to have said “The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

I recently returned from a trip to South Africa, a country halfway around the world, where currently the cattle and swine industries are fighting an economically devastating battle against Foot-and Mouth Disease (FMD). The spread has been country wide, even in the face of some vaccination efforts, animal movement control, and stringent bio-security measures. Recently the disease has also been diagnosed in Botswana and Zimbabwe, so it is a regional issue now.

A simple direct 16-hour flight brought me from Johannesburg South Africa to Newark and after passport formalities it was time to collect luggage and witnessing several hunters collecting gun cases, I struck up a conversation on where they hunted including within and around South Africa.

Soon we parted our way, some leaving the airport, while others to connecting gates. However, something was amiss,

during the late 2000s I travelled to Africa often and upon return all luggage was checked and boots were sanitized and put in plastic bags if one was not wearing them. At this airport, on this day, there was a glaring absence of biosecurity.

What has changed, only the odds. The risk of FMD entering the USA from Southern Africa in the late 2000s was significantly lower as the disease was contained to a small geographical area, but now it is widespread in cattle (beef and dairy), swine and wildlife, which increases the spillover risk.

As we are currently heavily focused on New World Screwworm, it would be worthwhile to be prepared for other risks as well including FMD.

Lourens Havenga