Weekly News - 02/23/2010
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| Veterinary Advantage would like to thank its sponsors in promoting excellence in animal health sales including Abbott Animal Health, Bovie, IDEXX, Intervet/Schering Plough, Merial, Midmark, Ethicon/Novartis, Sempermed, UltiCare and VSSI. |
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Top Stories Midmark starts 2010 “Vet Rocks!” contest Banfield raises awareness of pet oral health Experts disagree with CBS News report on antibiotics New equine welfare group formed |
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Products to Watch Midmark’s Cardell® MAX-12HD DUO Vital Signs Monitor and LoFlo sidestream C02 module available Merial receives full license approval for ONCEPTTM Canine Melanoma Vaccine Pfizer’s Excede approved for use in horses Vetericyn launches Vetericyn® wound and infection treatment |
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Events CBI to hold summit on animal health marketing strategies |
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Worth Watching VetCentric partners with Pfizer for home delivery |
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Top Stories |
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Midmark starts 2010 “Vet Rocks!” contest Midmark Corporation announced the kick-off of its 2010 “Vet Rocks!” contest. The contest runs from Feb. 15 - Oct. 15, 2010 and offers veterinary clinics the opportunity to win one of four exam room makeovers worth up to $12,000 (retail value), and one grand prize winner will receive a treatment room makeover worth up to $30,000 (retail value). Clinics registering at the site are automatically entered to win one of several random drawings for prizes such as a Nintendo® WiiTM Rock Band combo package or an Apple iPod® touch. There is no purchase required to enter the contest. To participate, clinics must simply visit midmark.com/vetrocks and register. Winners will be selected throughout the contest. To be eligible for the first prize that will be awarded, clinics must register no later than April 20, 2010. The final entry deadline is Oct. 20, 2010, and the grand prize winner will be announced on Oct. 31, 2010. For complete contest details, visit midmark.com/vetrocks. For product inquiries, call the Midmark veterinary customer service department at 1-800-MIDMARK or visit midmark.com. For questions regarding the contest, contact the promotions department at ext. 7575. |
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Banfield raises awareness of pet oral health Banfield’s Applied Research and Knowledge (BARK) team has released new pet oral health data, in conjunction with February’s National Pet Dental Health Month, advocating an increase in education and awareness, Veterinary Practice News reported. According to new findings, 68 percent of cats and 78 percent of dogs age 3 and older have oral disease. Banfield’s chief medical officer, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, DVM, MS, DACVIM, said more needs to be done to educate the public on the disease. Annual dental cleanings and at-home care were encouraged. Veterinary Practice News reported that the top canine breeds predisposed to the disorder “include the Toy Poodle, Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese, Pomeranian, Shetland Sheepdog, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Papillion, Standard Poodle, Dachshund and Havanese.” In cats, the disease is most prevalent in Himalayan, Siamese and Persian breeds. The risks increase 20 percent each year of a pet’s life, according to BARK’s data. |
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Experts disagree with CBS News report on antibiotics According to a report in Meatingplace, veterinarians and antibiotics experts are taking issue with a recent CBS Evening News report on the potential threat to human health from the use of antibiotics in farm animals. The CBS report presented the “overuse of antibiotics in livestock to promote growth and prevent disease may pose a threat to the health of Americans by leading to the creation of new strains of drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA,” according to Meatingplace. A veterinarian, Dr. Richard Carnevale, countered that the CBS story failed to put into perspective that the serious problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria being on the rise in hospitals has little to do with animals. The form of MRSA that is putting humans at risk is not the same strain found in animals, he noted. While the CBS report quoted a Food and Drug Administration official saying more safeguards and surveillance are needed to prevent inappropriate use of antibiotics in farm animals, the panel who spoke on the media briefing said only FDA-approved antibiotics are used in livestock at risk of disease, and their use is properly monitored. Dr. Scott Hurd, senior epidemiologist at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said that the risk to human health from antibiotic use in animals is small, and those who are concerned about a potential link are only looking at one piece in the causal chain instead of the many steps involved between the farm and the fork. |
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New equine welfare group formed Equine veterinarians in Kentucky have formed a new equine welfare group: the nonprofit Equine Health and Welfare Alliance Inc (EHWA), according to DVM Newsmagazine. Membership is open to veterinarians, as well as equine organizations and their supporters, and horse owners, according to the group’s new Web site (http://www.equinehealthandwelfare.org/). Goals for the group include reviewing welfare standards and legislation, certifying rescue and retirement operations, and assistant veterinarians in “critical areas of need” such as neglect and abuse, population control and other health and humane issues. Members of the EHWA plan to use the World Equestrian Games in Frankfort, Ky., in September to propose new tax incentives and discounts for farm that board unwanted, rescued or retired horses. The proposed discounts and incentives could be applied to insurance, feed, supplies, health maintenance care and professional services. The five founding members are all equine doctors in Kentucky: Doug Byars, Mike Cavey, Gary Lavin, Frank D. Marcum and Norm Umphenour. |
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Products to Watch |
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Midmark’s Cardell® MAX-12HD DUO Vital Signs Monitor and LoFlo sidestream C02 module available Midmark Corporation recently announced the availability of its Cardell® MAX-12HD DUO Vital Signs Monitor and the LoFlo sidestream C02 module for the veterinary office. The high-performance Cardell® MAX-12HD DUO Vital Signs Monitor allows users to upgrade to CO2 at any time, and download case data to a USB flash drive for transfer to a PC. Featuring the Cardell non-invasive blood pressure technology, the monitor provides readings for patients from kittens to horses, and is validated by peer-reviewed studies in anesthetized cats, dogs and foals. Customers can choose CO2 monitoring in a mainstream or sidestream format by adding the optional Philips Respironics Capnostat® Mainstream solid state probe or their LoFloTM Sidestream module. In addition, the Midmark LoFlo C02 module for the Cardell 9500HD and MAX-12 DUO monitors is now available, offering the first plug-and-play sidestream monitoring system. The module provides a 50ml/min sampling rate; low dead space adapters for cats and exotics, and Luer lock line for equine. This solution offers an option for those whose patients include large animals, or who simply prefer sidestream CO2 monitoring. This module is compatible with all Cardell 9500HD monitors sold to date with CO2 monitoring capability. |
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Merial receives full license approval for ONCEPTTM Canine Melanoma Vaccine Merial has gained full-licensure from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for ONCEPTTM Canine Melanoma Vaccine, DNA, the company announced. ONCEPT is a breakthrough vaccine indicated for aiding in extending survival of dogs with stage II or stage III oral canine melanoma, a common yet deadly form of cancer in dogs. ONCEPT is the first and only USDA-approved, therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of cancer - in either animals or humans. |
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Pfizer’s Excede approved for use in horses The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Excede sterile suspension, a new long-acting antibiotic formulation for horses from Pfizer Animal Health, the company announced in a release and TheHorse.com reported. Excede Sterile Suspension is used to treat lower respiratory tract infections in horses caused by susceptible bacterial strains of Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus. Excede acts as a sustained release product that offers an extended duration of action with fewer injections compared to other antibiotic treatments on the market. Veterinarians administer two intramuscular injections to affected horses 4 days apart. Therapeutic drug concentrations against Streptococcus equi ssp. zooepidemicus are maintained for a total of 10 days from the initiation of treatment. |
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Vetericyn launches Vetericyn® wound and infection treatment Vetericyn, Inc. announced that its Vetericyn® wound and infection treatment product is now available for felines. Vetericyn is designed to treat a variety of ailments in cats, including a condition veterinarians commonly refer to as “hot spots,” “summer sores” or “moist eczema,” in which a raw, irritated lesion results from a cat constantly scratching, chewing or licking an itchy area of its skin. Other indications include insect bites, skin rashes, ulcers, burns, cuts and scratches, eye infections, outer ear infections and post-surgical sites. Vetericyn is formulated so that it is gentle enough for the specific sensitivities of cats and kittens and it does not sting when applied. |
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Events |
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CBI to hold summit on animal health marketing strategies The Center for Business Intelligence’s Animal Health Marketing Strategies Summit will be held at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel, April 9-12, 2010. The event is designed as “the only forum dedicated to the development of integrated marketing campaigns for animal heath manufacturers.” This educational meeting brings together marketing, sales, product, brand and business development teams to discuss industry trends, strategies to reach veterinarians and the “doting” pet owner, as well as regulatory considerations to maximize marketing dollars, increase product uptake and improve market access. Key topics to be addressed include: an FDA update on regulatory and surveillance activities in the veterinary medicine market; a marketing, sales, and technical services strategies presentation by the founder of Fountain Agricounsel, LLC; and case studies analyzing the most successful campaigns in terms of reaching both veterinarians and consumers. Visit www.cbinet.com/animalhealth or call 339-298-2100 for more information or to register. |
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Worth Watching |
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VetCentric partners with Pfizer for home delivery VetCentric, Inc. announced a partnership with Pfizer Animal Health, opening up the full suite of Pfizer products to VetCentric’s partner clinics for home delivery. “We are excited about this agreement and what it means for our partner clinics,” said Ted Root, President and CEO of VetCentric. “In addition to expanding access to the complete Pfizer product line, we are pleased that our clinics now can be assured of the full-manufacturer’s guarantee for all of their home delivery products fulfilled by VetCentric.” |
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