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Brakke Consulting’s
Animal Health News & Notes for May 17, 2019
Copyright © Brakke Consulting
Editor: Lynn Fondon DVM MBA
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IN THE NEWS:
Brakke Consulting news
Pain Management Products report – now available!
Transaction assistance
earnings news
Alivira
Covetrus
ImmuCell
Zomedica Pharmaceuticals
other news
Barkstrong
Cargill
Ceva
Curados
Diamond V
Green Dot Bank
IDT Biologika
Inovio Pharmaceuticals
Man’s Best Friend Therapeutics
Plumbline Life Sciences
Scratchpay
TBD-Biodiscovery
Zoic Pet
Zomedica
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BRAKKE CONSULTING
2019 Pain Management Products report
NOW AVAILABLE
Pain management is one of the leading topics in veterinary medicine today. Brakke Consulting’s annual report on Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats includes such valuable information as:
– overview of acute and chronic pain in small animals
– discussion of the impact of the human opioid crisis on veterinary use of opioids
– review of new products
– estimates of US sales and prices of leading products
– pain management products in development
– review of nutritional supplements used for chronic pain
– review of therapeutic diets for joint care
– discussion of the use of cannabinoids in veterinary pain management
– 2019 survey of 370 small animal veterinarians regarding use of pain management products
Pain Management Products for Dogs and Cats 2019 is now available for immediate purchase for $5,750. Questions about the study can be answered by project manager Lynn Fondon, DVM, MBA at Lfondon@brakkeconsulting.com .
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COMPANY EARNINGS RELEASES
• Covetrus announced financial results for the first quarter of 2019. Revenue for the first quarter of 2019 was $941 million, down 1% compared to the first quarter of 2018. Net loss attributable to Covetrus was $(13) million compared to net income of $23 million in the first quarter of 2018. The primary driver of the decline in net income year-over-year was a result of the impact from the spin-off and merger. Non-GAAP pro forma adjusted net income was $13 million, which includes Vets First Choice in both periods and normalizes for certain one-time items as seen in the non-GAAP reconciliation, compared to $13 million in the prior year period. (company website)
• Alivira Animal Health announces financial results for the fiscal year March 31, 2019. Revenues were $150 million, up by 22%. Operating profit was $20 million, up 53%; net profit increased 5.6x over the prior fiscal year. (company communication)
• ImmuCell Corporation announced unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Total product sales were $4.4 million, an increase of 53% compared to the same period in 2018. Net income was $145,000 compared to a net (loss) of ($221,000) during the first quarter of 2018. (company press release)
• Zomedica Pharmaceuticals Corp. reported consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019. Zomedica recorded net loss and comprehensive loss of $(11.7) million compared to a loss of $(2.2) million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. Zomedica had cash and cash equivalents of $2.3 million as of March 31, 2019, compared to $1.9 million as of December 31, 2018. (AP)
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2019 KC Animal Health Corridor Events
August 26-27, 2019
Kansas City, MO
Market Insight Seminar
August 26, 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Join fellow animal health leaders in Kansas City this August for the 4th annual KC Animal Health Corridor Market Insight Seminar. All registration proceeds will be donated to New Horizon Ranch and Rose Brooks Center.
Animal Health Corridor Homecoming Dinner
August 26, 5:00 – 9:00 pm
The KC Animal Health Corridor’s annual Homecoming Dinner is an exclusive gathering of industry leaders from around the world to celebrate global industry successes and growth.
Animal Health Investment Forum
August 27, 7:30 am – 6:00 pm
The KC Animal Health Investment Forum is one of the only opportunities in the world for early stage animal health companies to present their vision and business plan to potential investors.
For details, go to http://kcanimalhealth.thinkkc.com/events/annual-events
REGISTER NOW for Early Bird Pricing: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-annual-kc-animal-health-corridor-events-tickets-61435035846
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COMPANY NEWS RELEASES
• Ceva Santé Animale and IDT Biologika GmbH announced they have reached a provisional agreement for Ceva to acquire IDT’s veterinary biopharmaceutical portfolio and R&D activities, allowing IDT to focus on the manufacture of human biotechnology products. Strong synergies exist between the two companies’ swine and poultry vaccine ranges. Financial terms were not disclosed. (company press release)
• Zomedica Pharmaceuticals announced it will sell $12 million of newly-created Series 1 Preferred Shares to an unnamed accredited investor. Zomedica has already received $5 million of the purchase price; the remaining $7 million is expected to be paid on or prior to June 7, 2019. (Animal Pharm)
• Man’s Best Friend Therapeutics (MBFT) has gained an exclusive license from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) for a patented drug delivery system. MBFT will incorporate SwRI’s calcium phosphate nanoparticle (CaPNP) drug delivery technology in clinical trials for an immunotherapeutic vaccine to prevent and treat canine melanoma. The company will also use the system to develop other vaccines for cats and livestock in the longer term. (Animal Pharm)
• Diamond V announced the launch of TruMune, the company’s most advanced immune health product specifically for use in dog and cat diets. (Feedstuffs)
• Inovio Pharmaceuticals announced a collaboration with South Korea’s Plumbline Life Sciences to develop a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF). The vaccine will be developed using Inovio’s SynCon technology, a synthetic vaccine design platform, and delivered using its Cellectra efficacy-enabling devices. The two companies already have a license partnership in animal health, with Inovio holding an equity ownership in Plumbline of around 15%. (Animal Pharm)
• Cargill’s animal nutrition business is conducting a voluntary recall of select Southern States feed due to aflatoxin levels that exceed the FDA’s action levels. The affected products, which were manufactured and sold in the eastern US, were removed from retail shelves throughout February, March and April 2019. No adverse health effects to animals have been reported to date. (Feed strategy enews)
• Scratchpay and Green Dot Bank announced they are working together to offer owners Scratchpay Savings, a new type of savings account and a debit card. A Scratchpay savings account lets pet owners set aside funds each month for their pet’s health care, while also earning benefits and incentives. (Veterinary Practice News)
• Barkstrong LLC (dba Zoic Pet) reported that it has filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy. The filing came as a result of the death of Barkstrong owner A.K. Sands, whose family opted to dissolve the company through bankruptcy instead of continuing operations. (Pet Business)
• NETHERLANDS Dutch company Curados has signed a worldwide exclusive agreement with Estonian TBD-Biodiscovery for the development and synthesis of five active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the animal health space, providing Curados with a secure supply chain for its most important APIs. (Animal Pharm)
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ANIMAL HEALTH NEWS
• HONG KONG – ASF Hong Kong confirmed a case of African Swine Fever (ASF) in a slaughterhouse in the New Territories bordering China’s southern Guangdong province, in a further sign that the disease is spreading beyond mainland China’s borders. Around 6,000 pigs in the slaughterhouse will be culled. (Reuters)
• US – PSEUDORABIES The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (VAAFM) announced that a feral boar shot in March in the northeastern corner of the state has tested positive for pseudorabies virus (PRV) infection. Vermont is not known to have an established feral swine population, and the state has been certified free from PRV since October 1995. (Feedstuffs)
• US – ASF PREPAREDNESS The USDA is furthering its overall African Swine Fever preparedness efforts with the implementation of a surveillance plan. To make this program as effective and efficient as possible, USDA will add ASF testing to our existing classical swine fever surveillance. We will test samples from the same high-risk animals, using the same overall process, but will test for both diseases instead of one. USDA and its partners expect to begin ASF surveillance efforts within weeks. (TheFencePost.com)
• US – VETERINARY EDUCATION A Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, which would eliminate a withholding tax to maximize funding for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program. The Program provides loan assistance to place food animal and public health veterinarians in USDA-designated veterinary shortage areas, and will help close veterinary access gaps in rural communities. (AVMA)
• US – HEMP USE American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) provided updated guidelines regarding the use of hemp in animal feed. In the guidelines, AAFCO maintains that hemp and hemp products currently may not be used in feed in the United States. Although the Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of controlled substances, it did not authorize the use of hemp as an ingredient in animal feed. In its statement, AAFCO said “one thing has become clear through collaborative discussions with the hemp industry and the FDA: materials and products that are CBD-infused need to be treated as drugs because the intended uses are largely associated with drug claims.” (APPA enews)
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BRAKKE CONSULTING
TRANSACTION ASSISTANCE
Brakke Consulting has been the finder of record, agent of record or consultant for a number of successfully completed projects. We assist with valuations and provide due diligence on confidential transactions as well as offering executive counsel on a number of potential transactions.
Brakke Consulting has the experience, insight, ability and contacts to provide clients with the highest quality services in the animal health, pet, veterinary and specialty chemicals markets. Please contact any of our offices for a confidential consultation.
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BRAKKE CONSULTING VIEWPOINT
Last year we surveyed 1,400 veterinarians around the country and asked them questions about twenty companies that called on them. One of the questions was, “How likely are you to recommend this company to another veterinarian?” They had to choose a number between 1 and 10, with 10 being extremely likely and 1 being not at all likely. From this data, we calculated a Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is widely used to measure customer satisfaction. The percentage of detractors (scores of 1-6) was subtracted from the percentage of promoters (scores of 9-10), so the NPS scored can range from -100 to 100.
In Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, the use of the NPS metric was discussed on a front-page article that seemed to point out its overuse by some companies (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-dubious-management-fad-sweeping-corporate-america-11557932084). The authors mentioned that several companies can’t stop taking about it, like UnitedHealth and Delta Airlines. Delta uses NPS as a criteria for the bonuses paid to the company’s executives – these executives describe NPS as the “true North Star”. Despite the WSJ authors contention of overuse, Delta claims it can statistically correlate their NPS performance with their revenue premium. UnitedHealth is aiming for an NPS of 70 by 2025.
Of the twenty companies we measured in 2018, the average score was 13. One company made a significant improvement from 2016 to 2018 that doubled the average improvement seen by the twenty companies and they know why. Seven companies scored zero or below. Contrary to the WSJ article, I believe the NPS measurement is underused in our industry and it should be used with other measurements of customer satisfaction to improve the operations of the company. Our twenty-company average was 13. From other data sources, Walmart’s NPS is 40, Amazon’s is 61, Apple’s is 89. We have a way to go.
Bob Jones
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