Weekly News – 09/28/2010
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| Veterinary Advantage would like to thank its sponsors in promoting excellence in animal health sales including Abbott Animal Health, Ansell, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Bovie Medical Corporation, Covidien, IDEXX, Intervet/Schering Plough, Merial, Midmark, Ethicon/Novartis, Sempermed, and UltiCare. |
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Top Stories Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. brand pet foods available through Webster VetSourceTM Home Delivery Animal Health International hires former PVP sales professionals, opens service center in Omaha Abaxis adds four regional veterinarians AVMA raising awareness for World Rabies Day Veterinary College will study pharmaceutical firm’s treatment for dogs with cancer Entest BioMedical entering veterinary market BlogPaws conference for pet bloggers and writers held California sales tax proposal would include veterinary services Downing named president of American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians WebMD article lists top signs of pet illness |
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Products to Watch StatSpin offers small, low cost cytocentrifuge for vet offices |
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Events World Equestrian Games to have plenty of vets Senate designates 2011 as World Veterinary Year |
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Sales Pat Malone’s tip-of-the-week |
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Worth Watching Survey says Internet pharmacies charge half of what UK vets charge |
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Stock Watch Stock Watch |
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Top Stories |
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Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. brand pet foods available through Webster VetSourceTM Home Delivery Webster Veterinary Supply announced that its full line of Hill’s® Prescription Diet® and Science Diet® brand pet foods are now available through Webster VetSourceTM Home Delivery platform. “Over the past two years, Hills Pet Nutrition has worked closely with VetSource to develop a successful partnership and we are very excited to add this important product line to the Webster VetSource Home Delivery offering,” said George Henriques, president of Webster Veterinary Supply. |
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Animal Health International hires former PVP sales professionals, opens service center in Omaha Animal Health International, Inc. announced it has hired 23 experienced sales professionals from Professional Veterinary Products, Ltd. (“PVP”), and opened a customer sales and service center in Omaha, Neb. In their new capacity at Animal Health, these sales representatives will build on their experience and relationships, solidifying the company’s reach in several important markets, Animal Health International announced. In addition, the company acquired certain strategic assets, including customer lists, from PVP, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late August. |
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Abaxis adds four regional veterinarians Abaxis announced it has expanded its Professional Services Veterinary team to now include four regional veterinarians. The veterinarians and their respective areas are: Keith DeJong, DVM – Northwest; Heidi Lang, DVM – Southwest; Jeff Hara, DVM – Great Lakes/Mid-Atlantic; and Jeff Wells, DVM – Northeast. Craig Tockman, DVM, provides service in the Southeast in addition to his duties as director. The professional services team provides direct customer support through education and training to improve medical care and product utilization. |
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AVMA raising awareness for World Rabies Day The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) increased awareness for pet owners on the importance of rabies vaccination leading up to Sept. 28’s World Rabies Day. “Most of us recognize the dangers associated with rabies,” says Dr. Larry Kornegay, AVMA president, “but even though reported cases of rabies in humans are rare in the U.S., we need to remain vigilant in our efforts to control the disease. Every year, we continue to see rabies in pets, livestock, horses and wildlife. And the truth of the matter is, we can prevent most of these cases.” Rabies education and prevention is the goal of World Rabies Day, an international program now in its fourth year that has helped educate about 100 million people worldwide, has involved 125 countries and has led to the successful vaccination of 3 million animals. These numbers are significant because rabies kills more than 55,000 people each year, many of them children living in poorer areas of Africa and Asia. For more information about rabies, including a brochure for pet owners and helpful tips on how to avoid dog bites, visit the AVMA’s World Rabies Day web page. |
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Veterinary College will study pharmaceutical firm’s treatment for dogs with cancer Lawrence-based CritiTech Inc. has reached an agreement with the Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine to study whether its drug Nanotax can be used in canines. CritiTech, has long been developing Nanotax to treat cancer in human patients. But the company also believes the drug has potential for veterinary use. The deal with the University of Missouri will allow veterinarians to begin testing different dosage levels on dogs. CritiTech leaders expect the study to take about 18 months to complete. |
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Entest BioMedical entering veterinary market According to VPN, Entest BioMedical Inc. plans to get its immunotherapeutic cancer vaccine for dogs, ImenVax, on the market within 12 months. One out of three to four dogs will develop cancer and 50 percent of dogs older than 10 will get cancer, according to David Koos, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Entest BioMedical. Entest BioMedical recently adopted a “veterinary first” approach with its research and products. This means the company’s primary focus will be on the veterinary market, not the human market as it was previously. The shift, according to Koos, will help Entest BioMedical get to market and generate revenue faster than if the company focused on human trials. Koos noted that getting animal products to market is easier than with human products because of different regulatory structures. |
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BlogPaws conference for pet bloggers and writers held BlogPaws 2010 West , a conference for pet bloggers and writers, held recently in Denver, Colo., focused on helping clients communicate more effectively with online resources such as websites, blogs, e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. One speaker, Nancy Kay, DVM, DACVIM, discussed how the Internet is changing client communication. Kay, who maintains the Speaking For Spot blog, conducted a poll of 120 veterinarians in Northern California to see how many practices are using email to communicate with clients. Of the 72 respondents, 49 were general practices and 23 were specialists. |
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California sales tax proposal would include veterinary services California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is reintroducing a sales tax to offset a growing budget crisis, but the tax would include veterinary services, according to DVM Newsmagazine. In response, the California Veterinary Medical Association is joining efforts with other associations in opposition to Schwarzenegger’s sales tax proposal. On Sept. 1, representatives from CVMA testified at the state Senate and the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committees joint hearing on the Governor’s Tax Reform proposal. Previous failed attempts sought an 8 percent to 9 percent tax on certain professional services, which included veterinary services. The newest proposal would mandate a 3.59 percent tax on all services, including veterinary surgeries, routine exams and pet food purchases, to name a few. Accordingly, the present tax rate would be slashed by 1.5 percent. Additionally, there is a proposal to cut the present income tax structure down to two brackets (from seven) and lower the highest rate from 9.5 percent to 6.5 percent. The corporate tax rate would be trimmed from 8.84 percent to 6.5 percent. |
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Downing named president of American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians A Colorado veterinarian, Dr. Robin Downing, was recently named president of the American Association of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, according to the Windsor Beacon. Downing is the owner and medical director of Windsor Veterinary Clinic PC and The Downing Center for Animal Pain Management LLC. She was invited by the association’s board of directors to become president in July at the American Veterinary Medical Association conference. Downing will serve as president for the organization for two years. |
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WebMD article lists top signs of pet illness A recent WebMD feature by Katherine Kam and reviewed by Karl Jandrey, DVM, highlighted six signs from experts of illness in your dog or cat, including vomiting or diarrhea; lack of appetite or decreased activity; urinating more or less frequently; coughing; hair loss or itchy skin; and stiffness, lameness or difficulty rising. If pets experience any of those symptoms, owners are encouraged to call or visit their veterinarian. |
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Products to Watch |
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StatSpin offers small, low cost cytocentrifuge for vet offices The StatSpin CytoFuge® 2 is a compact, low cost cytocentrifuge that concentrates and gently deposits cells in a monolayer onto microscope slides for cytology on any body fluids. It’s perfect for the veterinary office or clinic. Samples from 50 µL up to 300 µL are processed with high cell recovery. The covered rotor and chamber gasket reduces exposure to biohazards. Samples are processed quickly and easily on any bench or even in a safety hood. The new snap-seal filter concentrators are available in disposable and reusable formats. http://www.statspin.com/products_us/Cytofuge2.php |
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Events |
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World Equestrian Games to have plenty of vets The World Equestrian Games, held Sept. 25 through Oct. 10 in Lexington, Ky., won’t be short of veterinarians, says Janet Patton of the Herald-Leader. U.S. Department of Agriculture vets, Kentucky state vets, vets from Lexington’s Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Fédération Equestre Internationale vets, volunteer vets and student vets will be on hand, according to the article. “It’s the largest equestrian sporting activity that’s ever occurred in the U.S.” said Dr. Chris Newton of Rood & Riddle, the Games’ official veterinary partner. Although some things have been scaled back due to economic conditions, vets and nurses are staffing the Horse Park clinic almost around the clock. All told, there may be 100 vets at the park each day, the Herald-Leader reported. |
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Senate designates 2011 as World Veterinary Year Veterinary medical education got its start 250 years ago when the first veterinary medical college opened in Lyon, France. In honor of this anniversary, the United States Senate passed a resolution declaring 2011 as “World Veterinary Year” to bring attention and show appreciation to the veterinary profession. World Veterinary Year will launch internationally with an opening ceremony on Jan. 24, 2011 in Versailles, France. The AVMA, and many partners on the US Vet 2011 National Committee, have a number of events planned across the United States during the year to commemorate World Veterinary Year. The AVMA is hosting a symposium, “World Veterinary Year: 250 years of Improving Animal and Human Health” on July 17, 2011 during the AVMA Convention in St. Louis. |
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Sales |
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Pat Malone’s tip-of-the-week Effective Meetings Managers – You can compress your meeting time by as much as one-third and increase your business results by beginning every internal meeting with a Common Goal Statement. You will find the meeting will stay on point, eliminate the need for so many follow-up meetings and yield more productive business results. Try it at your next meeting and then decide. Pat Malone is a senior partner at the Par Group and can be reached at (770) 493-7188 or patrick.malone@thepargroup.com |
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Worth Watching |
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Survey says Internet pharmacies charge half of what UK vets charge The British Veterinary Association (BVA) says the claim that veterinary practices over-inflate the price of veterinary medicine is an unfair accusation made by a survey carried out on behalf of the online pharmacy Vet-Medic, which found that Internet pharmacies charge on average half the price for medicines when compared to veterinary practices. “Veterinary practices will mark up the cost of the medicines they supply in order to cover the costs of keeping and dispensing them,” said BVA President-Elect Harvey Locke. “This includes having trained staff available, buying the necessary equipment, and storage facilities that are governed by strict rules, and covering the cost of wasted medicines that have a short shelf life. Locke said online pharmacies have similar overhead but are able to buy in much larger quantities, and that in some cases, internet companies “are sourcing cheaper drugs abroad.” “The BVA would therefore urge caution when buying from internet pharmacies and recommend that pet owners spend time finding out where the medicines are sourced from … As with many products buying online can be cheaper and consumers have a choice. Many pet owners choose to use the veterinary practice pharmacy because a lot of advice and assistance is available, including demonstrations on how to administer the treatments.” |
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Stock Watch |
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2010-09-28 09:54
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