PetSmart Joins Petco In Eliminating Chinese Pet TreatsMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Chinese-made dog and cat treats are on the way out of two of the nation's largest sellers of pet supplies. PetSmart reported late Tuesday that the Phoenix-based chain will no longer stock Chinese dog and cat treats as of March 2015. The announcement came hours after Petco stated that it would stop selling such items by the end of 2014 because of concerns over the safety of jerky treats that have drawn the scrutiny of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. PetSmart and Petco each operate more than 1,300 stores nationwide and together enjoy an approximately 30 percent share of the U.S. pet supplies market. A possible connection between jerky—much of it made in China—and thousands of reported pet illnesses or deaths has occupied FDA investigators for the past seven years. The agency announced last week that 1,800 additional complaints had been counted since October 2013 but that its experts remained stumped in their search for a possible link to jerky treats. PetSmart did not provide a specific reason for pulling Chinese treats off …
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New Drug Company, Provetis, Enters Veterinary MarketMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Four animal health veterans have formed a start-up company dedicated to the development of veterinary drugs for companion and production animals. The new company, Provetis, is headquartered in St. Louis and is working with TetraGenx, an established Montreal research and development company, on the first five products. The Provetis team is led by: • CEO Brad Butler, who also oversees the animal health company Creative Science LLC. He is the former chief operating officer of Ceva Animal Health's U.S. division. • Chief operating officer and product development director Kevin McDonnell, the founder and president of TetraGenx. • Chief scientific officer Hosein Hojabri, Ph.D., a TetraGenx vice president. • Executive director of special projects Radek Romanowski, DVM. He founded the Canadian animal health company imRex Inc. The relationship with TetraGenx is key, Butler said. "Provetis will access and use the capabilities of TetraGenx and its 40 employees, state-of-the-art facilities and track record of producing impressive revenue," he added. Five products in the pain, antibiotic and parasiticide categories are under development, Provetis reported. "In addition, the company is …
Henry Schein Buys 60% Share Of Equine Company SmartPakMay 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The SmartPak management team will have a partial stake in the company upon its sale to Henry Schein Animal Health. Veterinary products distributor Henry Schein Animal Health will expand its equine offerings through the purchase of SmartPak, a supplier of horse supplements and supplies. Dublin, Ohio-based Henry Schein reported today that it will acquire 60 percent of SmartPak and that the private equity firm Oak Hill Capital Partners and SmartPak's current management team will own the balance. The value of the transaction, which is expected to close in June, was not disclosed. "We are fortunate to be acquiring a majority ownership position in a fast-growing company with a deep commitment to equine health and keen expertise in sales and digital marketing to those who care for horses," said Stanley M. Bergman, chairman and CEO of parent company Henry Schein Inc. SmartPak was started in 1999 in Plymouth, Mass., with the introduction of a patented feeding system designed to ease the administration of nutritional supplements and medications to horses. The company has expanded its catalog over the …
Drug Companies Back Stricter Antimicrobial UseMay 22, 2014A U.S. Food and Drug Administration plan to phase out the use of medically important antimicrobials in livestock feed and drinking water has won the overwhelming support of the veterinary drug industry. The FDA reported March 26 that 25 companies would request the withdrawal of drug approvals received for food production uses and transfer the remaining therapeutic uses to the oversight of veterinarians. Besides healing sick animals such as cattle, poultry and hogs, the drugs sometimes are used to improve feed efficiency or enhance growth. The voluntary strategy is outlined in Guidance for Industry 213, which the FDA developed in its campaign to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance in animals and people. The companies that signed on make virtually all of the over-the-counter drugs used in the feed and water provided to food animals. Among the drug makers are industry heavyweights such as Elanco Animal Health and Zoetis Inc. and smaller companies like Cross Vetpharm Group Ltd. and Pennfield Oil Co. Only one company declined to sponsor Guidance 213. An FDA spokesperson, citing confidentiality, declined to identify the holdout. Guidance 213 gives the drug companies three years to voluntarily revise FDA-approved labels by removing production indications and bringing therapeutic …
Video: Fire Departments Receive Pet Oxygen Masks From VeterinarianMay 21, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. In the dead of night an alarm begins to blare. Woken from a deep slumber, you're disoriented, and it takes a few seconds to fully register the sound. It continues to blare. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Realizing what it is, you spring out of bed. Smoke is clouding your vision and you can feel the warmth of flames before you see them. You quickly gather your family and race to get out of the house. Once outside, you count your family, make sure everyone is there, rush to a neighbor's house to have them call for help. Before the sirens of the fire department's engines come roaring to your home, you remember: "My dog is in there!" You are faced with a dilemma: go in and save him or wait outside for the fire department. The sirens are within earshot now, but the smoke and flames are also becoming more pronounced. You hear his desperate barking and you believe he is begging you to save him. You start to run back into the house, your family at once shouting at you to stay and …
Equine Nasal Strips Do Work, Kansas State ReportsMay 21, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Flair equine nasal strips are designed for both performance and exercise horses. For the owners of the horse favored to win the Belmont Stakes on June 7, a $10.50 investment in a Flair nasal strip is a small price to pay. Researchers at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine reported today that the nostril-opening product, manufactured by Flair LLC of Delano, Minn., is more than a cosmetic device. Howard Erickson, DVM, Ph.D., and David Poole, Ph.D., DSc, say it has proven health benefits and possible performance advantages. Their randomized control study on seven geldings running on a treadmill found that equine nasal strips "tent" the airway and hold it open, protecting the lungs. Flair equine nasal strip "The Flair nasal strip has been shown by our research to reduce exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage by approximately 50 percent," Dr. Erickson said. "I think that is beneficial." The New York Racing Association this week cleared the way for California Chrome to wear a nasal strip during his run for the …
Petco Removing All Dog, Cat Treats Made In ChinaMay 21, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Petco operates 1,300 company stores and more than 100 smaller-format Unleashed by Petco stores. Petco will stop selling Chinese-made dog and cat treats by year's end in reaction to an ongoing investigation of pet illnesses possibly linked to tainted jerky. The San Diego-based chain today became the first national pet specialty retailer to ban Chinese-made treats from its shelves. The action came days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported that more than 5,600 dogs and 24 cats had became ill over the past seven years after eating jerky treats. More than 1,000 dogs died. No proof has been found to conclusively link jerky to the pet illnesses. Most of the jerky was produced in China. Chinese-made dog and cat treats will disappear from Petco's 1,300 stores, its website and Unleashed by Petco locations over the coming months. "We know some pet parents are wary of dog and cat treats made in China, especially chicken jerky products, and we've heard their concerns," Petco CEO Jim Myers said. "Very simply, we feel this decision …
Animal Care Students Help Care For Abandoned KittenMay 20, 2014Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Early one brisk morning in Rugeley, Staffordshire County, England, a package awaited the employees of a veterinary clinic on Market Street. It was no ordinary, post-office-delivered package lying on the doorstep. It was a living, breathing entity, meowing in its infancy: a kitten. Lenny's abandonment was short-lived. Without his feline mother, or a human substitute, Lenny found refuge in the hands of Joanne Waldron, RVN, head nurse at the Donnachie & Townley veterinary clinic. Waldron took the kitten home and for the first few days fed him at two-hour intervals. A lecturer of the Level 2 Animal Care Course at Stafford College, Waldron brought Lenny to her students, who help care for the kitten. They have bathed Lenny carefully and keep track of his developments. They dote on the kitten, bringing him to and from Stafford College in a specially-prepared basket ? one that contains a hot water bottle and a teddy bear. They have even taken over his feeding schedule, which is now every four hours, on weekdays. "The students have been giving me a bit of a break and …
Merck Releases 12-Week Flea, Tick MedicineMay 20, 2014Merck Animal Health today upped the ante in the world of flea and tick preventives with a flavored chew proven to be effective for 12 weeks at a time. "Bravecto is a breakthrough innovation that offers pet owners and veterinarians something that no other product does—the longest-lasting oral flea and tick prevention currently available," said KJ Varma, senior vice president of research and development at Summit, N.J.-based Merck. The product is indicated to kill fleas for 12 weeks, the black-legged tick, American dog tick and brown dog tick for 12 weeks, and the Lone Star tick for eight weeks. The 12-week claims do not apply to dogs less than 6 months old. The active ingredient, fluralaner, is a new ectoparasiticide belonging to the isoxazoline group, Merck noted. The chew may be given to help control flea allergy dermatitis, the manufacturer added. Bravecto's five dosages are based on a dog's weight: 4.4 to 9.9 pounds, 9.9 to 22 pounds, 22 to 44 pounds, 44 to 88 pounds and 88 to 123 pounds. Clinical trials revealed the most common adverse reactions to be vomiting, decreased appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, polydipsia and flatulence.
Merial's NexGard Now Indicated Against 2 More TicksMay 19, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter @vetpetnews. Afoxolaner, the active ingredient in NexGard, helps treat and control fleas and ticks for 30 days at a time. NexGard (afoxolaner) Chewables, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved last year as a flea and tick preventive, is now indicated to protect against the black-legged tick and the Lone Star tick. The manufacturer, Merial Ltd. of Duluth, Ga., reported the update today in regard to ticks linked to Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis and tularemia. "As ticks continue to become more of a threat and spread to new geographic areas, treatment with a product like NexGard, which kills both fleas and ticks, will be especially important," said Hal Little, DVM, Merial's director of field veterinary services. Laboratory studies found that NexGard was highly effective against the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) 48 hours after treatment and that it maintained efficacy for one month, Merial stated. The initial claim involved the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis). The active ingredient, afoxolaner, is formulated to kill fleas and ticks for 30 …
