VCA Antech’s Same-Store Revenue Dips 1.6%April 26, 2010 VCA Antech Inc.’s animal hospital division recently reported revenue of $246.7 million for its first quarter ended March 31, an increase of 3.5 percent from the year-ago period of $238.4 million. Same-store revenue declined by 1.6 percent. The Los Angeles-based company acquired four animal hospitals during the quarter with combined annual revenue of $9 million. VCA Antech’s laboratory division reported $78.2 million for the quarter, up 0.4 percent from $77.9 million in the year-ago period. VCA Antech’s Sound-Eklin saw a 79.8 percent increase in revenue in the first quarter, from $8.8 million to $15.8 million. Overall, VCA Antech reported net income of $32.9 million on revenue of $330.7 million for its first quarter, compared to net income of $32.9 million on revenue of $315.9 million in the year-ago period. “We experienced relative improvement in our revenue growth rate in comparison to the previous four quarters,” said Bob Antin, chairman and chief executive officer of VCA Antech. “We continued to recover from the effects of the economic recession; however, we were confronted with record snowfall throughout the East Coast during February which impacted both our animal hospital and laboratory business segments. As the economy …
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Why Heartworm Preventive Sales Should Not Go Over The CounterApril 26, 2010 The current monthly oral and topical heartworm preventives, as well as ProHeart6, the injectable six-month formulation for dogs, are all members of the same pharmaceutical class: the macrocyclic lactones. These are compounds or chemical derivatives of compounds produced by various soil-dwelling species of actinomycete bacteria within the genus Streptomyces. Ever since the introduction to small animal veterinary medicine of the first member of the class, ivermectin (as Heartgard), these compounds have become the mainstay of heartworm prevention in the United States and around the world. These are amazing compounds with efficacy at remarkably low doses against internal and external parasites. With the exception of the well-known blood-brain barrier problem in certain collie breeds, this drug class poses almost no significant safety concerns. These compounds have moved heartworm prevention from the world of the daily into the monthly (or semi-annual with ProHeart6) and, either on their own or in formulations with other products, also provide concurrent protection against internal parasite infections. All in all, from the point of view of the dog and cat, health care now is similar to that of people after World War II when penicillin and related antibiotics jumped onto the scene and …
Webster Veterinary Severs Relationship With Bayer Animal HealthApril 23, 2010 Webster Veterinary, a national distributor of veterinary products and pharmaceuticals, reported April 23 that it has discontinued its relationship with Bayer Animal Health of Shawnee, Kan., and will no longer represent Bayer’s companion animal health product line. The move is in response to Bayer Animal Health’s recent decision to sell its Advantage and K9 Advantix products directly to pet specialty retailers and pet specialty Internet sites. Previously, the flea and tick products were only available through licensed veterinarians. “Webster believes that veterinary professionals provide the highest level of care to our pets and are the best source for providing products, services, instruction and education to support this care,” said George Henriques, president of Webster Veterinary, a division of Patterson Companies of St. Paul, Minn. “We remain committed to supporting our industry and our veterinary professionals in every possible way. While we regret the need to discontinue our relationship with a business partner, we believe it is the right decision for Webster Veterinary and our industry.” Bob Walker, director of Communications and Public Policy for Bayer Animal Health, said that Webster Veterinary was very upfront about their decision to discontinue the partnership. “And we respect their decision,” …
Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health Opens Vaccine Manufacturing FacilityApril 22, 2010 Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health on April 22 celebrated the opening of its new vaccine manufacturing facility at Biosciences Center Boxmeer in The Netherlands. Chris Buijink, secretary general of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, performed the official opening. The animal health company is investing $22 million in the new building, which has increased the floor space for the production unit from about 16,146 square feet to about 59,202 square feet. It will have four hi-tech production lines for bacterial vaccines with a media preparation capacity in fermentors ranging from 200 liters to 1,500 liters. The facility is compliant with current and anticipated regulatory requirements on Good Manufacturing Practices for veterinary medicines, with special sectors for bio-contained zones. In addition, the new facility allows production capacity to be expanded in order to meet the increasing demand for veterinary vaccines. Looking glass in fermentor, used for the visual inspection of the vaccine production process. The opening celebration included a scientific symposium titled, “Research and Technology in Bacterial Vaccine Development: Opportunities for a One Health Approach.” The symposium was organized in collaboration with Immuno Valley. Several industry leaders from Dutch universities and …
United Kingdom’s Safeguard Launches Pet Insurance PolicyApril 21, 2010 Safeguard, a provider of caravan and motorhome insurance in the United Kingdom, has launched a new pet insurance policy. Pets are a major part of family life, as well as a large component of the caravan and motorhome community, according to the company, a division of Swinton Group Ltd. “Pet ownership can be expensive,” said Rita Sadler, Safeguard manager. “If your pet has an accident or becomes ill, vet bills can soon add up. This pet insurance policy offers financial security should your pet have to go to the vet so that owners won’t have to make difficult decisions about whether or not they can afford the treatment. “Taking our pet insurance through Safeguard will also cover things such as advertising costs if your pet goes missing, boarding fees and third part liability. As with all insurance policies it’s vital to check small print. Look at the excess, whether there’s a cap on veterinary fees and what cover is given to individual medical conditions.” Safeguard’s pet insurance covers: Veterinary fees – up to a maximum of about $6,160; Complementary treatment – up to about $385 with no time limit; Emergency boarding kennel fees – up to …
New Orleans Considers Mandatory Spay/Neuter OrdinanceApril 20, 2010 The New Orleans City Council has introduced an ordinance that, if passed, would require owners or keepers to spay/neuter all dogs older than six months. The council plans to discuss, and possibly vote on, the ordinance at its meeting on May 6. Exemptions would extend to dogs younger than six months, dogs present in New Orleans for less than 30 days and dogs that are used by a government or law enforcement agency or an agent thereof for government, rescue, law enforcement or other government purposes. A licensed veterinarian may also certify that a dog should not be spayed/neutered for a specific health reason. Owners or keepers who have obtained or submitted an application for an “intact dog permit” may also be exempt. An “intact dog permit” would be available from the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In order for the society to grant the permit, owners or keepers would need to adhere to the following conditions: Submit appropriate forms and fees, including, but not limited to, a written description of the dog, a photo of the dog and a photo of the dog’s living conditions; Proof the dog has been microchipped; Proof …
Winn Feline Foundation And Feline Pine Bring Funding To FIP ResearchApril 20, 2010 The Winn Feline Foundation and cat litter brand Feline Pine have partnered to fund research aimed at finding a treatment for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a fatal disease of cats. “We are so excited to be partnering with Feline Pine,” said Susan Little, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (feline practice), past president of the Winn Feline Foundation. “They are truly a company that cares about the life and health of cats and their support of the Winn Feline Foundation assists us in our goal to help ‘every cat, every day.’” The research project is being led by Alfred Legendre, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. FIP is believed to occur when there is a mutation of the common intestinal coronavirus. There is a depression of the cell-mediated immune response to the mutated virus, which results in an overproduction of antibodies and a loss of the cell-mediated immunity needed to destroy coronavirus-infected macrophages, according to the Winn Feline Foundation grant description. The polyprenyl immunostimulant (PI) stimulates cell-mediated immunity. The investigators will treat 20 cats diagnosed with FIP with PI. “We look forward to …
Purina Recalls Two Lots Of Horse, Poultry FeedsApril 19, 2010 Purina Mills LLC is voluntarily recalling two specific lots of 50-pound bags of Strategy Professional Formula GX horse feed and one lot of Layena SunFresh Recipe Pellet poultry feed. The company issued the recall after five customers complained about metal fragments they had discovered in a limited number of bags from one of the Strategy product lots. No animal health issues had been reported, according to Purina Mills. People who have purchased the recalled products should not store or use the products and are asked to return unused product to their dealer for replacement, according the company. Those with products that do not have the lot numbers below are not affected by the recall. The products being recalled were manufactured in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 24-25, 2010. They were shipped to retailers and dealers in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri and Virginia. The following specific products and lot numbers are involved in the recall: Formula No. Item No. Description Lot Number 35SS
Herd Health & Welfare: A ResponseApril 19, 2010Editor: We would like to respond to Dr. Laura Zehnder Jones’ comments on the article “Food Animal Vets Dispute Abuse Charges” [February 2010]. One overarching concern seems to be about the farm size, business orientation and business relationships of many of today’s operations. We do not believe it is disingenuous to note that the majority of farms are family owned. Trends in business in recent decades have been toward larger entities regardless of whether the subject is retail businesses such as the shopping supercenters, the pharmaceutical industry, railroads or manufacturing. Animal agriculture has experienced these same trends. These trends reflect that increased scale often increases efficiency. In the face of an increasing population and reduced land mass resources, becoming more efficient has become a requirement for farm survival. It is common to observe changes in business structure and business processes as farms increase in size. Frequently, more formal, legal business relationships come into existence, which make possible shared ownership and management responsibilities among close relatives and across several generations. These larger farms are capital intensive and require extensive use of risk-management tools such as crop insurance, hedging and contracts to secure inputs and sale of production. …
Making Sense Of The Neuro ExamApril 15, 2010 The neurological exam seems to be one of the most confusing concepts in veterinary medicine. Let’s try to clarify things. To simplify, we will focus on the hind legs only. One way to look at the neuro exam is to divide it into an assessment of “the four stages” and an evaluation of four reflexes. Photo courtesy of Dr. Phil Zeltzman. The patellar reflex causes extension of the stifle. The four stages require a functional spinal cord and a functional brain, and they help us determine a lesion’s severity. Reflexes tell us only where the lesion is localized. Since I am a surgeon and not a neurologist, I talked to Todd Bishop, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM (neurology), of Upstate Veterinary Specialties in Latham, N.Y., to ensure the accuracy of the following information. Decline Into Nociception Patients might go through four stages between normalcy and being paralyzed with no deep pain: First-stage patients may feel back pain. They can exhibit pain by vocalizing. Certain breeds, such as beagles, are especially good at expressing their feelings. Others may arch their back. . As they …
