IDEXX chief medical officer announces 2019 retirementOctober 10, 2018IDEXX Laboratories Inc. is in the market for a new chief medical officer after Roberta Relford, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVIM, DAVCP, announced her plans for retirement early next year. Dr. Relford, who joined IDEXX in 1996 and has served as its CMO since 2013, is leaving the company to pursue a new opportunity raising and training colts for working ranches across the U.S. "As many of you know, I have a new partner, and he and I are about to begin a fascinating and exciting new chapter in our life together," she said. "We are embarking on a new journey where we will be training colts and traveling the country. "I didn't make this decision lightly," Relford added. "I leave behind the best job and career a person could ask for. At IDEXX, I have been part of setting new and higher standards of care for pets around the world, and I can't imagine a better team with which to do this important work." Relford received her DVM from Auburn University, a master's degree from Mississippi State University, and a PhD in veterinary pathology from Texas A&M University, where she also pursued advanced training in small animal internal medicine. Check …
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Pathway Vet Alliance hospital network expansion continuesOctober 9, 2018Pathway Vet Alliance, a national veterinary management group, has added 15 new veterinary practice locations across California, Texas, New Mexico, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, and Arkansas. "Throughout this year we've remained committed to expanding our network of hospitals to new communities across the U.S. These efforts have allowed us to help more pets and provide pet owners with unparalleled care options," said Stephen Hadley, DVM and CEO of Pathway Vet Alliance. "We have exceeded our own expectations during the third quarter and hope to continue this success as we close out this year." The veterinary hospitals recently acquired by Pathway will benefit from the additional support, education opportunities, and resources Pathway offers while retaining their original team of veterinarians and veterinary professionals. Pathway is continuing to hire new team members at their headquarters in Austin and other locations in light of current growth and expected acquisitions during this year's fourth quarter. For more information, visit the company's website.
Blue Buffalo offers additional diet options for adverse food reactionsOctober 9, 2018Pet food maker Blue Buffalo Co. has launched BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance wet dog and cat foods, along with BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet NP Novel Protein Alligator wet dog foods, formulated for pets with adverse reactions to food. HF Hydrolyzed for Food Intolerance contains salmon hydrolysate, a novel protein with a mean molecular weight of 2,000 daltons, as the first ingredient. NP Novel Protein Alligator is formulated with alligator as the first ingredient. The new wet diets complement the existing dry formulas of BLUE NVD HF Hydrolyzed Salmon and BLUE NVD NP Novel Protein Alligator. "With the launch of BLUE NVD HF and NP wet formulas, Blue Buffalo is providing veterinarians with efficacious nutritional solutions to help manage adverse food reactions, while meeting the needs of their clients," said Victoria Carmella, DVM, director of veterinary services at Blue Buffalo. "BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet formulas provide a full range of natural recipes formulated by veterinarians and animal nutritionists to enhance the health of dogs and cats that can benefit from therapeutic nutrition."
KSU, Biosecurity Research Institute researchers target African swine feverOctober 9, 2018Kansas State University researchers and the Biosecurity Research Institute have banded together to stop the spread of African swine fever virus to the U.S. The disease was reported in China in August and is positioned to spread throughout Asia and the Caucuses region of Eastern Europe. If African swine fever enters the U.S., it could cause billions in economic losses to swine and other industries, and devastate trade and international markets, animal disease experts say. There is no vaccine or cure for the disease, which causes hemorrhagic fever and high mortality in pigs (it does not infect humans). "African swine fever's introduction into China, poses an increased threat to the U.S.," said Stephen Higgs, PhD, director of the Biosecurity Research Institute. "Introduction of African swine fever virus into the U.S. would have an enormous impact on our agricultural industry. Research, education, and training at the Biosecurity Research Institute help to improve our understanding and preparedness for this threat." In 2013, the Biosecurity Research Institute became the first nonfederal facility to be approved for work with African swine fever virus, Higgs said. The university projects at the Biosecurity Research Institute are part of research that can transition to the National …
iVET360 2018 report analyzes key veterinary clinic marketing metricsOctober 8, 2018 iVET360 veterinary services company released its annual Veterinary Marketing Benchmark Report, revealing statistics and trends in veterinary marketing for 2018. In the report, the company analyzed the marketing metrics of 1,000 accredited hospitals and covered approximately 27,000 data points to highlight crucial new information for practices regarding their marketing efforts. Topics covered in the report include introducing Nextdoor as a marketing tool, stressing the importance of Google (specifically highlighting the power of Google Ads—a tool only being used by 10 percent of hospitals), proper SEO usage, all things Google My Business, and the average number of reviews a practice has across their most dependable social channels. "Along with providing marketing assistance to veterinary hospitals, our goal is to lead the way and educate the industry on the most current and relevant marketing methods," said Justin Vandeberghe, managing director of creative services at iVET360. "Hospitals often contact us looking for industry benchmarks while asking us what they should be doing, and this report outlines what that average veterinary hospital hopes to achieve." Veterinary practices can download the report and receive a complimentary digital report of their business (within 24 hours) by contacting iVET360 and providing their …
Dog DNA company discovers why huskies have blue eyesOctober 8, 2018A duplication on canine chromosome 18 is behind Siberian huskies' blue eyes, according to a study published in PLOS Genetics by Adam Boyko, PhD, founder and CEO of Embark Veterinary, and Aaron Sams, PhD, senior scientist at Embark Veterinary Inc. and colleagues. According to the authors, this is the first consumer genomics study conducted in a nonhuman model and the largest canine genome-wide association study to date (the DNA of 6,000 dogs was tested). Embark Veterinary is a DNA research company with offices in Boston and Ithaca, N.Y., and a research partner of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Boyko, Sams, and colleagues used a diverse panel of 6,070 genetically tested dogs from owners that contributed phenotype data via web-based surveys and photo uploads. They found that a 98.6-kilobase duplication on chromosome 18 near the ALX4 gene, which plays an important role in mammalian eye development, was strongly associated with variation in blue eye color, primarily in Siberian huskies but also in nonmerle Australian shepherds. One copy of the variant was enough to cause blue eyes, or heterochromia. However, some dogs with the variant did not have blue eyes, so other genetic or environmental factors are still involved. …
Zoetis 2019 scholarships open to veterinary studentsOctober 6, 2018Zoetis and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges will partner once again in 2019 to provide scholarships to second- and third-year veterinary students in the U.S. and the Caribbean. Eligibility criteria for interested candidates include academic excellence, financial need, diversity, sustainability, leadership, and career interest. Scholarships will be awarded to students in all areas of professional interest, including food animal medicine, small animal clinical medicine, research, government services, public health, and organized veterinary medicine. "Zoetis continues its long-standing commitment to assist veterinary students in alleviating financial debt related to their education," said Christine Jenkins, DVM, DACVIM, chief medical officer and vice president, Veterinary Medical Services and Outcomes Research at the Parsippany, N.J., company. "Each year, we hear from Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship winners about how these awards helped them offset educational expenses and facilitate experiential learning opportunities such as externships." Recipients of the 2019 Zoetis Veterinary Student Scholarship Awards will each receive $2,000 for the upcoming 2019-2020 academic year. Interested students can visit the Vetvance website to apply or download the Vetvance mobile app, which is available at the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store, from now through Nov. 28.
Five trends that will double the U.S. pet health insurance market by 2022October 5, 2018 The U.S. pet health insurance industry, estimated at slightly over $1 billion in 2017, will nearly double to reach $2 billion by 2022, according to Rockville, Md.-based Packaged Facts market research firm. The findings were featured in the recently published report, Pet Insurance in the U.S., 6th Edition. The pet insurance market will grow more than 14 percent per year, supported by a number of trends in both this emerging market and competitive ones, according to company experts. Increased consumer awareness will be crucial to growth. "Consumers are increasingly aware of the available pet insurance plans in the U.S. marketplace," said David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. "Through marketing efforts and consumer education by pet insurance companies and associations, consumers are learning the benefits that pet insurance can offer when a pet becomes ill or injured. "For example, pet insurance companies use social media and their websites to grow consumer awareness of their offerings by sharing information on pet health, dog and cat breeds, and how pet insurance works. As market penetration remains low, these efforts are crucial to continued growth in the number of policies in force." Packaged facts targeted …
VolitionRx tests nucleosome diagnostic for veterinary space applicationsOctober 5, 2018 VolitionRx Ltd., a multinational Belgium-based life sciences company with offices in Texas, London, and Singapore, announced it is entering the veterinary market after "very encouraging" preliminary results from a study using its NuQ diagnostic blood tests for canine cancer testing. NuQ, currently used to screen for colorectal and prostate cancers, works by measuring and analyzing irregular levels of nucleosomes—a section of DNA wrapped around a core of proteins—in the blood to identify cancers. According to the company, the proof-of-concept study showed that blood nucleosomes also can be detected in dogs. With the promise of veterinary medicine applications, VolitionRx said it will now move NuQ into larger trials to answer the question of whether the method will work with animals. The company said it intends to outsource much of the veterinary clinical trial work through a partnership with Heather Wilson-Robles, DVM, DACVIM, associate professor and Fred and Vola N. Palmer chair in comparative oncology with Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in the Small Animal Clinical Sciences department. "The Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine Oncology Department is excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Volition," said Dr. Wilson-Robles. "Its innovative work in …
NC State CVM student wins Walkin' Pets scholarshipOctober 5, 2018Walkin' Pets by HandicappedPets.com announced that Kelly Hood, a fourth-year veterinary student at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded the 2018 Walkin' Pets Veterinarian Scholarship. Hood, from Asbury, N.J., is an unconventional veterinary student who first worked in the entertainment business in New York City and Nashville for many years. She and her husband Charles relocated to Miami, where Kelly had difficulty finding a job in the entertainment industry. She eventually took a job at a kennel, which kindled a desire to redesign her life and become a veterinarian, necessitating a return to school to get her science degree before applying for veterinary school. Upon graduating from NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine in May 2019, Hood intends to enter the field of small animal veterinary forensics. She also has completed veterinary mission trips to the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona, and the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina. On one of her last trips, she brought her six-year-old son Alex. While she was helping to spay and neuter dogs, Alex saw a person drive by and throw a dog out the car window. "Tracker" has joined the family, which also includes …
