Winn Feline Foundation Awards $127,411 In GrantsApril 29, 2014 Gina Cioli/I-5 Studio Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Winn Feline Foundation awarded $127,411 in grants for projects aimed at improving feline health. Out of the 36 proposals the foundation received for 2009, 12 were selected. One project sets out to determine whether a commercially produced raw food diet and a homemade raw diet is nutritionally adequate for feeding kittens and whether these diets enhance immune function and improve digestibility. The outcomes to be measured include growth rate, feed efficiency, digestibility and various blood and immune status parameters. The long-term goal is to evaluate ways of improving feline immune function through diet, according to University of Tennessee researchers Beth Hamper, DVM; Claudia Kirk, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVN, Dipl. ACVIM; and Joseph Bartges, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVN, Dipl. ACVIM. "Nutritional Adequacy and Performance of Raw Food Diets in Kittens" was awarded $14,878. Another project aims to discover a measurable component of a hyperthyroid cat?s urine that is associated with hidden kidney failure. To do this, Kansas State University researchers will apply mass spectrometry, a technique they say is capable of identifying thousands of urine components. …
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Swedish Animal Drug Maker Launches U.S. SubsidiaryApril 23, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Premune, a Swedish veterinary drug company, is making a serious push into the U.S. companion animal market by establishing a U.S. subsidiary, Premune Inc., in New York. Viktor Karlsson, CEO and cofounder of Premune AB, called the move "a significant milestone for our company as we continue building our global presence." "Pet-related spending in the U.S. has increased for each of the last 20 years, making it one of the few industries immune to macroeconomic weakness," Karlsson said. Premune develops treatments for allergies, inflammatory bowel disease and other immune disorders. The company's global partnering, licensing and business development efforts will spring from the New York headquarters. Premune's core research and development team will remain in Sweden. Premune Inc. is busy building an initial staff of about 10. A series of announcements is expected in the coming weeks, a spokesman said, as executive positions such as chief marketing officer and chief financial officer are filled. The New York office is expected to open in June. Among the products under development is one code-named PRE01, which, if approved, …
Foundation Working To Bring African Vets Closer TogetherApril 22, 2014The world's second-largest continent is short on veterinary collaboration—a problem the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Foundation wants to fix. The foundation, the global organization's charitable arm, this month launched the African Small Companion Animal Network. The project is designed to unite veterinarians on a professional level and raise the standard of care for animals across Africa. "While small animal veterinarians work hard, their numbers are few [and] they are geographically isolated and often held back by a lack of training and support," said Gabriel Varga, DVM, the foundation's president and director of North European business operations for Zoetis Inc. The African Small Companion Animal Network is backed by a consortium of supporters. The Florham Park, N.J., animal health company is among the effort's sponsors. Others include the association, the World Organization for Animal Health, the North American Veterinary Community, Vetstream, Morris Animal Foundation, Worldwide Veterinary Service, the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Slovakia and the marketing firm Circa Healthcare. The first phase of the project runs through April 2016 and involves: • Funding veterinary projects. • Linking African veterinary researchers with counterparts in the United States and Europe. • …
Elanco Merging With Novartis Animal HealthApril 22, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Novartis Animal Health, the maker of popular veterinary drugs Atopica, Deramaxx and Sentinel, is being sold to Eli Lilly and Co. in a $5.4 billion deal that will expand Lilly's Elanco division into the world's second largest animal health company. The transaction, announced today, came as Novartis' parent company, Switzerland-based Novartis AG, announced larger agreements to sell its human vaccine business to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), purchase GSK's human oncology products and launch a consumer health care joint venture with GSK. Elanco Animal Health, headquartered in Greenfield, Ind., will trail only Zoetis Inc. in revenue upon the addition of Novartis Animal Health. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015 after regulatory approvals. When combined, Elanco and Novartis Animal Health will become the world's second largest veterinary drug company. Among Elanco's veterinary drugs are the canine flea killer and heartworm preventive Trifexis and the feline flea-control product Assurity. The company will receive from Novartis nine plants, 600 products, six research and development centers, including sites in Larchwood, Iowa, and Greensboro, N.C., and more …
New York Weighs New Limits On Pet TradeApril 21, 2014 Legislation winding through the New York City Council would require the sterilization of rabbits and guinea pigs before sale and prohibit the purchase of cats and dogs produced at so-called puppy and kitten mills. The proposed laws, which are scheduled to go before the Committee on Health during a public hearing April 30, would impose unreasonable burdens on pet stores, according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. "At the end of the day, what we're seeing is a very clear program of the testing of legislative efforts that - restrict the sale of animals through pet stores," said Mike Bober, PIJAC's vice president of government affairs. The committee will consider four proposed pet laws April 30: 55: Would prohibit the sale of puppies and kittens obtained from high-volume breeders. 73: Would update the definition of a pet shop. 136: Would require the spaying or neutering of cats, dogs, rabbits and guinea pigs sold at pet shops. 146: Would mandate the implantation of microchips in cats and dogs sold at pet shops. The committee may alter, approve or reject legislation brought before it. The final …
USDA Requires Monitoring Of Deadly Pig VirusApril 18, 2014 The U.S. Department of Agriculture today enlisted swine veterinarians to further assist in the tracking of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), which has devastated pig farms in up to 30 states. New USDA guidelines mandate the reporting of PEDv cases and documenting the movement of pigs, vehicles and other equipment that leave farms and other places where the disease has been found. PEDv and the newly identified Swine Delta Coronavirus reportedly have killed at least 4 million swine, mostly piglets, in the United States and Canada since PEDv emerged in May 2013. The diseases pose no threat to people or pork products, authorities stated. "USDA has been working closely with the pork industry and our state and federal partners to solve this problem," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "Together, we have established testing protocols, sequenced the virus and are investigating how the virus is transmitted. "Today's actions will help identify gaps in biosecurity and help us as we work together to stop the spread of these diseases and the damage caused to producers, industry and, ultimately, consumers," he added. The monitoring and control program is a work in progress. USDA …
Help Wanted: Reality Show VeterinarianApril 18, 2014 Veterinarians with a thirst for excitement, the unknown and no privacy whatsoever may find what they're looking for in a new reality TV show from Fox. "Utopia," which is scheduled to debut in September, will take 15 people of different skill sets, place them in a remote location with few amenities, allow them to create their own civilization, and document how they survive and interact. Producers want a veterinarian to take part because animals likely will be living alongside the humans. Any veterinarian looking to schedule a two-week vacation so she can appear on the show is out of luck. The taping is expected to last one year. Who qualifies? Any U.S. citizen or legal resident at least 21 years old. "We are not necessarily looking for someone who is tall, dark and handsome," said Gretchen Miller, who works for The Conlin Co., a Los Angeles casting agency. "Their passion in what they do is what's important." "Utopia" is based on a popular Dutch show currently in production. …
Veterinarians Rank No. 51 On Job ListApril 18, 2014 Veterinarians know math, and they educate pet owners and clinic staff. But vets aren't mathematicians or tenured university professors - the top two occupations on CareerCast's 2014 Jobs Rated Report. The annual rankings, released Tuesday, placed being a veterinarian at No. 51 out of 200 jobs, just behind a loan officer but ahead of a court reporter. CareerCast, a Carlsbad, Calif., job search portal, weighed a number of factors in the calculations. A job's work environment, including emotional and physical demands, was considered along with income, stress and the future job market. Compared with dentists, who placed 61st, veterinarians enjoy a slightly better work environment and less stress but face a worse hiring outlook and much less pay: a median of $84,460 versus $146,340. Elsewhere in the medical world, optometrists came in at No. 14, orthodontists at No. 48, psychiatrists at No. 49 and general-practice physicians at No. 78. Mathematicians have it good, said Tony Lee, CareerCast's publisher. "In today's data-driven economy, math skills unlock a world of career opportunities," he said. Veterinary technicians …
Nexvet Biopharma Builds Drug-Development FundApril 17, 2014Investors poured $31.5 million into the coffers of veterinary drug developer Nexvet Biopharma, an Australian company that is researching medications that could be used to treat feline and canine pain and canine atopic dermatitis. The closing of the Series B, or second, round of financing was announced Wednesday. The proceeds are intended to assist Nexvet's work on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), or identical copies of antibodies, and expand the company's product line and U.S. operations. In development are drugs code-named NV-01, NV-02 and NV-06/08. They are designed to treat, respectively, canine pain, feline pain and chronic inflammatory diseases in dogs, such as atopic dermatitis. Pivotal trials are scheduled over the next 18 months for all three indications. A placebo-controlled study of a single injection of NV-01 in osteoarthritic dogs demonstrated four weeks of sustained pain relief and no adverse events, the company reported. Addressing shareholders and new investors, Nexvet CEO Mark Heffernan said the funding “serves as a major milestone, allowing us to expand our research and development team and greatly aiding our work to make mAbs available for the global companion animal health market, where there remains a large unmet medical need.” Nexvet’s proprietary PETisation platform technology translates monoclonal antibodies …
Cancer-fighting Virtual Pet Walk Set For June 22April 17, 2014 Pet owners are being encouraged to step outside and go for a walk June 22. Money collected from the Unite to Fight Virtual Pet Walk will help fund cancer research projects selected by Morris Animal Foundation. The Denver nonprofit organization since 1950 has supported more than 2,000 studies of health issues involving animals. The Pet Walk is a personal undertaking, meaning individuals or groups may walk anytime June 22, pledge money and ask friends and family members to contribute to the cause. Participants may register at unitetofight.morrisanimalfoundation.org. The website keeps a running tally of the money raised, and a map shows where walks are planned. The event is part of Morris Unite to Fight Pet Cancer Campaign, which was launched today and aims to raise $250,000 within six months. The organizers set a $100,000 goal for the walk alone. The campaign has a celebrity endorser: Dos Equis beer spokesman Jonathan Goldsmith, whom commercials deem "the most interesting man in the world." "Too many families, mine included, have lived through the heartbreak of …
