HEALTH - New Merck Veterinary Manual is Mobile and Agile

Since 1899 Merck has been publishing medical manuals, with the first Merck Veterinary Manual (MVM) released in 1955.

The 11th Edition was recently made available to the veterinary community.

In addition to expanding content, over time Merck has broadened its availability by adding an online version, creating a mobile app, and engaging on social media.

There are a number of advantages to the electronic versions.

It enhances the tradition of portability, allows for more timely updates and reviews of the content, there is room for a much larger number of figures and images, and can include multimedia content such as audio and video files.

The latest edition adds more interactive features such as regular news items that involve the veterinary profession, along with occasional commentaries.

There are new sections for case studies and quizzes based on MVM content to allow users to test themselves on a range of material.

Clinical calculators are included that enable users to enter patient data and determine specific dosages and related treatment requirements.

Veterinary students will be adding their perspectives on veterinary topics through regular blog posts.

For pet owners, there is material that addresses pet health topics in everyday language that will be easier to understand than the technical language of the sections intended for professionals.

Keeping up with the profession's and society's need to be in the know as it happens, the MVM online will now be updated on a continual basis.

So instead of waiting several years for new information to be published, it will appear as soon as it is available.

Merck has plans to release a new app for mobile devices and provide regular updates for that version as well.

Dr. Jason Coe Talks "B4 U GET A PET" with Ontario SPCA

The Ontario SPCA’s Animals’ Voice Pawdcasts feature some of the province’s leading experts on animal welfare, interviews with volunteers, pet care information and much more.

Last week host Kevin Mackenzie spoke with Dr. Jason Coe, Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College.

Dr. Coe and his team have created a website - b4ugetapet.ca - “to provide soon-to-be pet owners with practical considerations to think about even before getting a pet including questions to consider asking the source of your future pet, creating a plan for socializing your pet from the start, planning how you will introduce your new pet into a household with other pets or children, and thinking through how much you should budget for the annual cost of owning a pet.”

Watch the entire podcast to learn more about B4 U GET A PET.

PetSmart's Acquisition of Petco Encounters Roadblocks

PetSmart and Petco were in discussion to merge the two companies with PetSmart acquiring Petco. Financial analysts had mixed opinions over what this acquisition would mean for the North American pet supply market. The two companies are still interested in joining however the deal has met some roadblocks; according to Reuters the companies are reportedly having disagreements over sharing the risk of having the deal approved by American antitrust authorities. All parties involved have asked for confidentiality, declined to comment, or did not respond to comment requests from Reuters.

Petco has declined a proposal that requires compensation to PetSmart should the Federal Trade Commission require many store closures. Petco has asked several private equity firms to submit their acquisition offers within several weeks. The owners hope to sell Petco for at least $5 billion USD, including debt.

   

Petco filed for an initial public offering in September 2015 and this avenue will be opened if the company is not sold.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE 

 

Insight Into the Potential PetSmart-Petco Merger

Petco Holdings Inc will potentially be acquired by PetSmart Inc. The two companies have had informal discussion regarding PetSmart’s potential acquisition of Petco. However, neither company is publicly disclosing any information regarding a potential acquisition.

While Petco operates more stores in the United States their revenue does not compare to PetSmart. Petco has 1,400 stores in the US and had a revenue of $3.99 billion USD last year while PetSmart has 1,300 stores in the US and had a revenue of $6.9 billion USD.

If PetSmart acquires Petco then the resulting company would control approximately 30% of the American specialty pet retail market. Such dominance would probably result in store closure according Howard Davidowitz, CEO of Davidowitz & Co., a retail investment bank and consulting firm. Davidowitz said, "They would never even get to this point without having met with every smart merger lawyer and looked at this 1,000 different ways. When you go forward with this, you are spending tens of millions of dollars just to explore it."

Wedbush Securities Analyst, Seth Basham believes that a merger would increase market concentration which would be a warning sign for regulators. Regulators may require store closures. Even if they do not, PetSmart may close Petco locations. Basham said that approximately 72% of Petco locations are within five miles of a PetSmart.

Regarding a merger, Davidowitz said, "If you are asking me if things are going to be better after the merger, (the answer is) absolutely not. What they should be doing is perfecting their businesses, coming up with specialty niches within pets. I can think of a hundred things they ought to be doing."

Basham believes a merger is “feasible and very attract financially”. He said, "We believe a combination with Petco would buy PetSmart synergies, but would not solve its competitive dilemma, underscored by rapidly shifting shopping behavior and increasing online competition. In fact, an acquisition of Petco could distract PetSmart from addressing this issue and add increasing pressure. After all, Petco is a smaller and somewhat weaker competitor with generally higher in-store pricing."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

VetHealth Global Animal Health and Nutrition Conference

The VetHealth Global Animal Health and Nutrition Conference was held on June 9th and 10th; it is held every two years in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The conferences allows animal health planners and executives to share leading information. The primary supporters include the Prince Edward Island BioAlliance, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Innovation PEI.

Attendees include both well-established and newly emerging animal health and nutrition companies, research networks, and service providers. The conference features guest speakers, panel discussions, and private meetings between companies.

Avivagen, a life sciences company attended the conference. Cameron Groome, CEO of Avivagen said, “With our biology laboratories and some of our key collaborators here in Charlottetown, we are very pleased to be a part of P.E.I.’s vibrant life sciences community. The VetHealth Global conference brings international attention to Canadian animal health innovations and helps us forge the alliances necessary to achieve global success.”

READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT