The animal health market initially emerged because of the demand for a specific segment within biotech and pharma that focuses on improving the life of animals, including companion animals, such as dogs and cats, and farm animals, such as cattle and poultry. Now, there are lots of animal health companies trying to make a difference for animals, with a focus on promoting longevity and overall well-being.
With the world’s growing pet population also having an impact on demand, the animal health market is thriving, having grown enormously over the past few years. In fact, the animal healthcare market size is expected to be valued at around $80.9 billion by 2028, compared to approximately $46.6 billion in 2020.
In this article, listed in alphabetical order, we take a look at five of the leading animal health companies trying to improve the health of a variety of animals by developing products such as vaccines, pain relievers, and antiparasitic treatments.
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Ceva Sante Animale
Ceva Sante Animale is a French animal health company that was established in 1999, and it researches, develops, manufactures and supplies vaccines, pharmaceutical medicines and other animal health products, along with equipment, training, technical support and specialized services to veterinary professionals and people who look after animals all around the world.
The company says its business is organized around four areas, which are specific to the type of animal the company creates products for. These are: poultry, swine, ruminants, and companion animals.
Although the company didn’t start out that way, it is now committed to preventative health, as it believes that vaccines play an essential role in promoting the rational use of antibiotics, which are essential for protection of both human and animal health. Now, 40% of the company’s business is dedicated to vaccines, compared to only 25% in 2010.
Dalan Animal Health
American foulbrood (AFB) is one of the most devastating and fatal diseases known to affect honeybee brood, weakening and killing honeybee colonies. It is highly infectious and is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. Traditionally, it has been treated with antibiotics, which can have negative effects on honeybees, such as antibiotic resistance and the disruption of the honeybee microbiome and overall hive health.
But, Dalan Animal Health hopes to change that, and, earlier this year, in a world first, the company’s vaccine for honeybees to treat AFB received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which could prevent AFB outbreaks and eliminate the need for antibiotics.
Dalan’s vaccine contains dead whole-cell P. larvae bacteria, and works through transgenerational priming, whereby the maternal animal passes immune modulators to the next generation of larvae before they hatch.
In this case, the vaccine is administered orally after being mixed into the royal jelly that is fed to the queen bee. Pieces of the vaccine are then deposited in the queen’s ovaries, where her eggs are exposed to the vaccine, inducing a future immune response to the bacteria.
Elanco
Elanco is a global leader in animal health, and the company is dedicated to innovating and delivering products and services to prevent and treat disease in both farm animals and pets.
For pets, the company is focused on developing solutions that will treat pain and prevent disease, as well as enhance and extend quality of life, and improve the type of care that pets receive. Some of its products include: ATOPICA, for feline allergic dermatitis; Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody, which targets canine parvovirus (CPV); and Seresto for Dogs, for preventing ticks and fleas.
Meanwhile, for farm animals, the company supports the prevention, control and treatment of disease. Examples of products for farm animals include: Baytril100, which is a single-dose fluoroquinolone for treating bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in cows; Para Shield, which is a vaccine for glasserella (Haemophilus) in pigs; and Pili Shield for protecting piglets from E. coli, through passed maternal antibodies.
The company has a pipeline that consists of more than 100 active programs for a range of different species.
Vetigenics
While immunotherapy has been successfully used to treat diseases in humans, it has lagged slightly behind when it comes to treating conditions in dogs.
Animal health company Vetigenics is aiming to change this by developing entirely canine antibody-based immunotherapies to treat cancer, as well as infectious diseases and other chronic conditions.
The company has phage display libraries that are thought to contain over 40 billion independent single chain fragment variables (scFv), or CANIBODIES. The fully canine antibody fragments are created to be precise, highly efficacious, and non-immunogenic. Using its platform, the company can rapidly isolate multiple CANIBODIES during the first stage of development, before subsequently being selected for desired functionality and developability properties.
CANIBODIES can be engineered into multiple delivery formats, such as full-length canine IgGs (monoclonal antibodies) or CAR-T therapeutics. With its platform, Vetigenics has built a portfolio of CANIBODY immunomodulators that are in various stages of production to treat cancer, infections and immune-mediated chronic diseases.
Zoetis
Founded in 1952, American animal health company Zoetis was spun out of Pfizer, and is the world’s largest producer of pet vaccinations and medicines. It has become the face of the animal health companies’ market, discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for a range of different animals, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, and even fish.
Some of the company’s milestones and achievements in animal health include the fact that it has more than 300 product lines across eight animal species, 14 blockbuster animal health products generating more than $100 million in annual sales, and around 1,000 new products and lifestyle innovations that have been introduced within the last five years.
Some of Zoetis’ products include APOQUEL, which has become the standard in dermatological care for veterinarians, Revolution PLUS, which is a broad-spectrum feline parasite preventative, and Librela, which helps to alleviate pain in cats and dogs with osteoarthritis.
Through its Center for Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, the animal health company also organizes its response to outbreaks of infectious diseases, working closely with government, health organization and veterinary and livestock communities to identify infectious disease threats early and develop solutions such as vaccines to prevent the spread.