Zoetis Unveils New Drugs for Dogs, HorsesNovember 18, 2015Veterinary drug maker Zoetis Inc. is celebrating achievements on both sides of the Atlantic after winning European approval of a new flea and tick preventive and USDA endorsement of a canine flu vaccine. The Florham Park, N.J., company also announced the release of an equine leptospirosis vaccine. The flea and tick drug, Simparica (sarolaner), is a chewable tablet given monthly to dogs as young as 8 weeks. It also is indicated for the treatment of sarcoptic mange, a contagious skin disease. Zoetis described the active ingredient, sarolaner, as a new ectoparasiticide in the isoxazoline class. Simparica, approved by the European Commission, was tested on more than 800 dogs in seven countries, Zoetis reported. The drug was found “to provide efficacy for at least five weeks against ticks and fleas” and “demonstrated a rapid onset of action, killing fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs,” the company added. Simparica kills four common European ticks—Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus—as well as the fleas Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis. The tablets are expected to be released in early 2016 in dosages of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 milligrams. U.S. veterinarians could see Simparica on …
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Biogal Offers Rapid Distemper, Lepto TestsNovember 18, 2015An Israeli company this week released time-saving tests for the diagnosis of feline distemper and bovine leptospirosis. Biogal Galed Labs reported that the in-clinic PCRun Veterinary Molecular Detection Kits deliver results within 75 minutes, an improvement over waits of up to a week when polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are done in outside laboratories. The new tests confirm feline panleukopenia virus, also known as feline distemper, and bovine leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that causes miscarriages and other serious health problems in cattle. The feline test also may be used to check for canine parvovirus. The distemper test uses blood or feces samples, while the bovine test requires blood or urine. Both tests are available for research purposes only in the United States pending U.S. Department of Agriculture approval, said Lenny Small, Biogal’s vice president of marketing. Biogal previously released PCRun test kits for canine Leptospira (leptospirosis), Ehrlichia canis (canine Ehrlichiosis), Anaplasma platys (anaplasmosis), parvovirus, Leishmania and feline Mycoplasma haemofelis (feline infectious anemia). Biogal’s U.S. distributor is Phoenix-based Spectrum Labs Inc.
Merck Plans Takeover of HarrisvaccinesNovember 13, 2015Veterinary drug maker Merck Animal Health has agreed to acquire Harrisvaccines, an Ames, Iowa, company that has led the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and avian influenza. The terms of the transaction, which was announced Thursday and is expected to close by year’s end, were not disclosed. Harrisvaccines Vice President Joel Harris said he and his father, company founder and CEO Hank Harris, DVM, Ph.D., aren’t going away anytime soon. “I’m staying on in my capacity and Hank is staying on in some capacity,” Joel Harris said. “That’s as much as I want to say.” Harrisvaccines will become a subsidiary of Merck, he said. “I think the plan is business as usual as we go through the integration process,” Harris said. Privately-held Harrisvaccines focuses on food animal vaccines. The company made headlines in 2013 upon winning government approval of a vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and this past fall for the conditional license of a vaccine targeting highly pathogenic avian influenza. PEDv has killed millions of U.S. piglets since 2013, and avian flu has led to the death or destruction of an estimated 50 million American chickens and turkeys over the past year. On the …
New Test Identifies Troublesome Equine FoodsOctober 30, 2015Veterinary diagnostics expert W. Jean Dodds, DVM, has released a version of the NutriScan food sensitivity test for the equine market. The saliva-based test requires a horse to chew on a cotton rope, which is then checked to detect the animal’s intolerance to different foods. They include alfalfa, apples, barley, Bermuda grass, brome grass, carrots, corn, cotton seed, fescue grass, flaxseed, Kentucky blue grass, meadow foxtail, molasses, oatmeal, orchard grass, red clover, rice, rye, rye grass, sugar beets, timothy grass and wheat. NutriScan, which also comes in canine and feline kits, “is simply another tool in a horse caregiver’s arsenal,” Dr. Dodds said. “Show, racing and recreational horses need to be in top condition at all times,” she said. “Horses do stop to pass stool. Several stops, though, are aggravating for the rider and may indicate that the horse is uncomfortable, distressed and in pain.” NutriScan for horses required two years of research, said Dodds, the founder of Hemopet, a Garden Grove, Calif., diagnostics laboratory and canine blood bank. NutriScan canine and feline saliva tests were released five and two years ago, respectively. The equine test is not the first on the market. Competing products examine the antibodies IgE …
Jaguar Optimistic About Diarrhea DrugOctober 30, 2015Jaguar Animal Health, which last year launched its initial gastrointestinal product, over-the-counter Neonorm Calf, expects to enter the prescription drug market in the first half of 2016. The San Francisco company has submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in support of Canalevia, which would be used to treat chemotherapy-induced diarrhea in dogs. Jaguar is requesting MUMS (minor use in a major species) status. Also in the prescription pipeline is a formulation of Canalevia to treat acute diarrhea in dogs. A pivotal efficacy trial could begin by year’s end, and Jaguar hopes to file a New Animal Drug Application (NADA) in 2016. Both Canalevia versions contain the active ingredient crofelemer, a botanical extract of the Croton lechleri tree. Jaguar is investigating Canalevia formulations for cats and horses. The manufacture of enteric-coated crofelemer tablets would be done by Patheon Inc. of Durham, N.C., under a contract signed in mid-October. Patheon makes a similar product for human HIV patients suffering from noninfectious diarrhea. In other news announced this month, Jaguar: Signed a four-year supply agreement with India-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd. for the production of crofelemer. Completed an additional field study of Neonorm Calf, an enteric-coated tablet administered …
How Equine Dental Care Can Give Your Business a BoostOctober 20, 2015Originally published in the October 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Enjoyed this article? Then subscribe today! It’s funny how much perspective time and experience bring. If there’s anything constant about veterinary medicine, it’s that it’s always changing. One of the areas of greatest change is in veterinary dentistry, not only in small animal medicine but also in horses. Today, there seems to be a remarkable consensus that horses need occasional interventions in their mouths and frequent examination to make sure the teeth stay level, smooth, at precise occlusal angles and so forth. I say “today” because it has not always been so. In fact, history gives some interesting perspective on the care of the horse’s mouth. I believe two things. First, I don’t think people are smarter now than they ever were. They may know more, but they aren’t smarter. In fact, people who lived a long time ago were so smart that we keep talking about them: see Plato, Socrates, et al. Second, I think they were much more closely associated with their horses …
U.S. Orders Stockpile of Avian Flu VaccineOctober 15, 2015Ceva Animal Health and Harrisvaccines have been awarded separate $6 million contracts to produce millions of doses of avian influenza vaccine for the National Veterinary Stockpile. The vaccine will be held in reserve in case of another outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a virus that led to the deaths this year of at least 50 million U.S. chickens and turkeys. The contracts were awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The agency stated that the drug stockpile is merely a defensive measure and “does not signal a decision to vaccinate.” Harrisvaccines, based in Ames, Iowa, agreed to manufacture 48 million doses of Avian Influenza Vaccine, RNA, which received conditional license approval in September. Nearly half of the supply will be available within 45 days, the company noted. Ceva Animal Health, a Lenexa, Kan., division of the international company Ceva Santé Animale, will produce 100 million doses of Vectormune AI. “We hope the U.S. poultry producers do not have to suffer through an avian influenza outbreak this fall or during 2016,” said Kristi Moore Dorsey, MS, Ph.D., Ceva Animal Health’s vice president of research and development. “As part of the USDA …
University of Florida Launches Equine Online CourseOctober 9, 2015The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine has launched an online, undergraduate equine course. It will include everything from common health issues and anatomy to history of the species and an understanding of equine-related business and research. “Because it’s online, we are able to offer this course to students at universities where they might not have a strong equine sciences department,” said Patrick Larkin, Ph.D., an adjunct lecturer in the college’s department of large animal clinical sciences who serves as course coordinator. “It’s also good exposure for students to decide whether or not they want to go into this field.” The course is aimed at sophomore or higher-level students and features pre-recorded lectures. Students must log in to the course website to watch lectures and complete assignments and may post questions in a discussion forum, Larkin said. About 30 students from across the country and the world are enrolled in the course this semester, according to the university. “This class offers students who are interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine or
How to Feed Horses With Metabolic ChallengesSeptember 28, 2015Originally published in the September 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News Most horses’ nutritional requirements are satisfied by having enough good hay to fulfill their caloric needs, water and a salt block (probably). But it is increasingly recognized that certain equine metabolic conditions can benefit from special diets targeted toward specific aspects of the condition. Recognizing that a horse has a metabolic problem is usually not particularly difficult, as horses will often show stereotypical clinical signs. Here’s a brief overview of a few common conditions and nutritional strategies that may help address them. Insulin Resistance/Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) in Equines EMS is a problem in both horses and humans. Horses with EMS become less sensitive to insulin’s effects, and more insulin than normally required is needed to keep blood sugar concentrations within normal limits, especially after a meal high in starch or sugar. The cause of EMS is not known, but a genetic component may be involved. Since these horses usually require relatively little feed to maintain their weight, they are commonly referred to as “easy …
AABP Has No Beef With New OrleansSeptember 23, 2015Describing its latest conference as the “strongest in years,” the American Association of Bovine Practitioners drew nearly 1,400 veterinarians and students to New Orleans and awarded nearly a quarter-million dollars in scholarships. The 48th annual convention, held Sept. 17 to 19, also saw Canyon, Texas, veterinarian Steve Lewis, DVM, named Bovine Practitioner of the Year and Fred Gingrich, DVM, of Ashland, Ohio, installed as president. The meeting was heavy on education, with 17 preconference seminars, dozens of classes and a half-day session on bovine respiratory disease. “Our overarching goal for the continuing education content of the program was to focus on the issues that the cattle veterinarian faces on a daily basis,” Dr. Gingrich said. “Animal welfare, bovine respiratory disease, practice management, providing new services to clients and current research topics are all important topics for cattle veterinarians.” The organization’s immediate past president, John Davidson, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, was very pleased with how things went. “This meeting was the strongest in years and a testament to our AABP member veterinarian’s commitment to a life of learning,” he said. Scholarships totaling $239,000 were awarded to veterinary students. The largest—$7,500 Amstutz Scholarships—went to Lisa Dauten of Purdue University, Tyler Grussing and …
