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The Experts in Animal Health |
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A Tribute to Our Founder
Yesterday we announced to our
newsletter readers that Ron Brakke passed away on Wednesday this week.
Many of our newsletter readers knew Ron professionally and many knew him
personally, too. I thought it would be
appropriate to write a few personal words about Ron. If you would like to tell a story about Ron,
maybe how he impacted you or your business, please email it to me and I’ll make sure
Ron’s family sees it.
Here is my story…
Ron started Brakke Consulting in
1986, the same year that I started in R&D at American Cyanamid. Ron had left Zoecon, a company that
specialized in insect growth regulators and pest control products, a few years
after it was bought by Sandoz Crop Protection in 1983.
About 10 years after Ron started
Brakke Consulting, was the first time that I interacted with Ron on a
consulting project. Over the years, I
had always read the Brakke News & Notes Newsletter, purchased some of the
reports his team produced, like the Sales Force Effectiveness Study, and
attended the annual Industry Overview presentations.
But I did not get to really know
Ron personally until he invited me to his family farm in South Dakota,
northwest of Sioux Falls, for his annual pheasant hunt. Not only did I learn the traditions of family
pheasant hunting in South Dakota, but I was able to meet Ron’s network of
animal health industry friends and members of his family.
In January of 2015, Elanco
completed the purchase of Novartis’s animal health business, and I had some
time on my hands, which I used to train a black labrador puppy. My singular goal was to successfully hunt with
“Boone” at Ron’s place, which I have done for ten years. Ron always trusted Boone to find the birds
for him.
Many people in the animal health industry
trusted Ron too. Ron knew a lot of
people, helped a lot of companies solve problems and grow, helped place a lot
of people in new positions in animal health companies and led many transactions
for companies. He saw the dramatic
consolidation of animal health distributors and manufacturers and he saw the
dramatic success of the oral and topical parasiticides in veterinary medicine
that helped move dogs from the backyard to the bedroom, and which eventually
replaced the Zoecon products that he managed in the 1970s and 80s.
He was proud of our industry – he
helped author a book about the history of U.S. animal health industry. Under his leadership, Brakke Consulting has
produced five landmark studies that helped the animal health industry. He wanted it to be a better industry.
Ron was not alone in doing all
this – he had a talented team around him, and I have been able to work with
many of them on the team still today.
And Ron trusted me, along with all the Brakke Consultants, to continue
the legacy of the business that carries his name.
Bob Jones
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Company Earnings Releases - Merck reported 2nd
Quarter 2025 Financial results. Animal Health sales were $1.6 Billion representing
a growth of 11%. For the first half of
2025, sales were $3.2 Billion, an 11% increase over prior year excluding the
impact of exchange. Livestock sales were
16% higher and companion animal sales were 4% higher in the first half of the
year.(company press release)
- Neogen announced their results
for the full year ended May 31, 2025. Revenue for the full year was $894.7 million,
a decrease of 3.2% vs prior year, this included a core revenue decline of 0.2%.
Revenues for the Animal Safety Segment were $256.5 million, a decrease of 4.6%
vs. prior year.(company press release)
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Company News Releases
- SoundTalks, maker of a
respiratory monitoring device for pigs, and Boehringer Ingelheim
announced the end of their promotion and distribution partnership effective at
the end of October 2025. (agtechnavigator.com)
- Whistle, a connected
wearable brand owned by Mars, has been acquired by Tractive, a
global provider of pet health monitoring. Financial terms were not disclosed. (investorsinhealthcare.com)
- Mars announced plans to increase their investment into growing their US-based- Manufacturing by an
additional $2 billion by the end of 2026. 94% of Mars products sold in the US
are produced locally in the US. (petage.com)
- VetriScience has partnered with the Senior Dog Veterinary Society to educate on the benefits of
nutritional supplements for dogs. (EINpresswire.com)
- Novella Innovative Technology, a biotech startup,
has formed a strategic partnership with functional ingredient producer, Metaphor
Foods to provide a natural antioxidant and anti-microbial compound created from
plant cells that will become a natural preservative to be used initially in
meat and poultry but can extend into other areas including pet food. (petfoodprocessing.net)
- MIG Capital AG and Digitalis Ventures announced they co-led a round of Euro 8.3 million
in seed funding to support ASTRA Therapeutics work on novel parasitic
agents that control parasites by inhibiting cell division. (startuphub.ai)
- In
order to scale their membership-based model, Small Door Veterinary
raised $55 million consisting of $35M Equity and $20M Debt Facility. (Morningstar.com)
- An
expanded partnership between Alveo Technologies and Royal GD will
add additional rapid molecular tests for poultry diseases beyond their initial poultry
avian influenza test. (feedstuffs.com)
- CHINA The signing of a legally-binding Memorandum
of Understanding would bring Xiuzheng Pharma Group’s Animal Health
Business into Nasdaq listed company Top Wealth Group Holding Limited
(TWG). The formal partnership when complete would diversify TWG to include pet
health and accelerate international expansion of China’s leading
privately-owned pharmaceutical conglomerate. (openpr.com)
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Brakke
Consulting
Brakke
Consulting attending the 2025 Animal Health Summit
Brakke Consulting is thrilled to be attending the 2025 Animal Health Summit,
hosted by the KC Animal Health Corridor on August 25–26, 2025. Our team would
welcome the opportunity to connect with your group during the networking, 1:1
business partnering, and inspiring emerging company presentations, panels, and
thought‑leader sessions.
Whether you’re navigating product strategy,
investor partnerships, recruiting executive talent, or preparing for licensing
and M&A—you’ll find the Brakke team perfectly positioned to help you
advance.
Let’s
discuss how customized market insights, actionable business strategy, or access
to top-tier talent can support your goals. To set up a conversation during the
Summit, please contact us using the platform, or email info@brakkeconsulting.com. We look forward to collaborating with innovative
leaders and companies in the animal health ecosystem.
www.brakkeconsulting.com
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Animal Health Stock Price Tracker |
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Animal Health News
- US
- USDA – US Department of Agriculture
announced that their operations will leave Washington DC and reorganize into 5
different regional hubs located in Indiana, North Carolina, Missouri, Colorado
and Utah. (wfyi.org)
- US
- SPECTRUM OF CARE CLINIC - University
of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine Campus will have a
new facility clinic focused on providing veterinary students with a “spectrum
of care” approach. The facility is
funded through a $5 million grant from the Stanton Foundation. (twincities.com)
- US
- STAFF PROTESTS - Staffing shortages at the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital prompted members of
the University Professional and Technical Employees and Communications Workers
of America 9119 to protest on July 29, 2025. (sacbee.com)
- AUS
- BEEF IMPORTS - Fresh chilled and frozen American and Canadian beef products
can now legally enter Australia after import restrictions in place since 2003 have
finally been lifted after completion of a full biosecurity and safety
assessment by Australia. (agdaily.com; Canada.ca)
- SAUDI ARABIA - EQUINE INFECTIOUS ANEMIA(EIA) - The World Organisation for Animal Health
(WOAH) has officially recognized Saudia Arabia as free of EIA. This recognition
helps facilitator international trade and horse competitions. (saudigazette.com.sa)
- INDIA-
AQUACULTURE- The Maldives and India signed a memorandum of
understanding that fosters collaboration in sustainable fisheries, aquaculture
and ecotourism. (ddnews.gov.in)
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Brakke Consulting Viewpoint
Recently,
my colleague, John Volk wrote about the competitiveness within the pet food
market, the largest segment of the pet market. I would like to expand on his
comments.
We
have all seen the humanization of our pets, which now includes the humanization
of the food we give them. Fresh and frozen food represents one of the fastest
growing pet food segments. Companies like Fresh Pet, Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, Nom
Nom and Just Food for Dogs to name a few, are strong players in this market.
The gloves are now off. Pet food behemoths including Mars’ Royal Canin and
General Mills through its Blue Buffalo brand both have recently announced new
fresh food products. In addition, back in February 2025, Hills announced the
acquisition of Care TopCo Pty Ltd., an Australian company marketing the
Prime100 brand of fresh pet food.
According
to NIQ data, the fresh/frozen pet food segment grew +16.1% in dollars and
+15.8% in unit sales in 2024. NIQ data shows that the fresh/frozen market is
still small, representing just 3.6% of the total pet food market. While small,
the growth rates are difficult to ignore, and the advertising and marketing
expenditure reflects this. Not a day goes by without seeing a TV ad for the
Farmer’s Dog brand, some of the best ads on TV.
The
race is on to capture market share in the premium pet food segment. Who will be
next to enter this market? More importantly, will anyone produce better ads than the Farmer’s Dog?
Randy
Freides
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Your View
Last week we asked, "Which
segment of the industry do you think will show the greatest growth over the
next five years?" Biotech products led the way with 42% of the vote,
reflecting strong confidence in innovations like monoclonal antibodies and gene
therapy. In the minority were all the rest: Diagnostics (13%), Pharmaceutical
products (11%), Technology (11%), Regenerative medicine (9%), Biologics (6%),
and Parasiticides (6%). As trends shift toward advanced solutions, it’s evident
that biotech is poised to take center stage in the future of animal health.
This week
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Given the competitiveness of the pet food industry, we were wondering how many of you have considered or tried a fresh or frozen food for your pets? |
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Trouble
viewing this newsletter? You can view it online at www.BrakkeConsulting.com
This
electronic newsletter is the sole property of Brakke Consulting.
Any use of the contents herein should be approved by and appropriately
attributed to Brakke Consulting.
For more information about Brakke Consulting's services and
syndicated studies, visit our website at www.brakkeconsulting.com.
Brakke
Consulting
806
Green Valley Rd
Suite 200
Greensboro, NC 27408 |
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