Last year we noticed that working from home has led to a surge in pet adoptions in Canada.Pet ownership continued to grow during the pandemic, with 33% of pet owners now acquiring their pets during the pandemic.Of these, 39% of owners have never owned a pet.
The global animal health market is expected to continue to grow in the coming year.A market research firm expects a compound annual growth rate of 3.6% for the period 2022-2027, and the global market size will exceed $43 billion by 2027.
A significant driver of this projected growth is the veterinary vaccine market, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.56% through 2027.The detection of COVID-19 in mink farms and other outbreaks highlights the continued need for more vaccines to safeguard future agricultural stocks.
Both pets and farm animals require professional veterinary assistance, and investors have taken notice.Consolidation of veterinary practices in North America and Europe continued over the last year.A consulting firm estimates that between 800 and 1,000 companion animals will be purchased in the U.S. in 2021, a slight increase from the 2020 figure.The same company observed that good general practice is often estimated at 18 to 20 times EBITDA estimates.
The most acquirers in this space are IVC Evidensia, which bought Canadian chain VetStrategy in September 2021 (Berkshire Hathaway bought a majority stake in VetStrategy in July 2020, Austrian Sler advised lenders on the transaction).VetStrategy has 270 hospitals in nine provinces.IVC Evidensia continues to acquire VetOne in France and Vetminds in Estonia and Latvia.For its part, Osler acquired Ethos Veterinary Health and SAGE Veterinary Health for its client National Veterinary Associates, which provides extensive commercial real estate and retail support.
One factor that may slow integration is competition law issues.The UK recently moved to block VetPartner’s acquisition of Goddard Veterinary Group.This is the second time the UK has blocked a takeover in the past two months.In February, CVS Group was blocked from acquiring Quality Pet Care.
The pet insurance market continued to grow last year.The North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA) reports that the North American pet insurance industry will pay more than $2.8 billion in premiums in 2021, a 35% increase.In Canada, NAPHIA members reported effective gross premiums of $313 million, an increase of 28.1% over the previous year.
As the global animal health market continues to expand, so will the demand for veterinarians, technicians and specialists.According to MARS, spending on pet health services will increase by 33% over the next 10 years, requiring nearly 41,000 additional veterinarians to care for companion animals by 2030.MARS expects to be short of nearly 15,000 veterinarians during this period.It is unclear how this anticipated shortage of veterinarians will affect current trends in veterinary practice consolidation.
In the second year of the pandemic, Canadian veterinary drug submissions fell.Since late June 2021, only 44 Canadian Notices of Compliance (NOCs) have been issued, down from 130 the previous year.About 45% of the NOCs issued last year were related to companion animals, with the remainder targeting farm animals.
On June 29, 2021, Dechra Regulatory BV received NOC and data exclusivity for Dormazolam, which is used in combination with ketamine as an intravenous inducer in anesthetized healthy adult horses.
On July 27, 2021, Zoetis Canada Inc. received NOC and data exclusivity for Solensia, a product for the relief of pain associated with feline osteoarthritis.
In March 2022, Elanco Canada Limited received approval for Credelio Plus for the treatment of ticks, fleas, roundworms and heartworm in dogs.
In March 2022, Elanco Canada Limited received approval for Credelio Cat to treat fleas and ticks in cats.
In April 2022, Vic Animal Health received approval for Suprelorin, a drug that temporarily renders male dogs sterile.
In March 2022, Health Canada released new draft guidance on the labelling of veterinary drugs, and the public comment period has now closed.The draft guidance sets out the requirements for on- and off-label and package inserts for veterinary drugs that manufacturers must submit to Health Canada both pre-market and post-market.The draft guidance should provide drug manufacturers with clearer instructions on how to comply with labelling and packaging requirements under the Food and Drug Act and the Food and Drug Regulations.
In November 2021, Health Canada issued new guidance on veterinary drug submissions.Veterinary Drugs – Administration of Regulatory Submissions Guidance provides information on the Veterinary Drug Administration’s process for administering regulatory submissions, including the following:
In August 2021, the Canadian Food and Drug Regulations (the Regulations) were amended to address shortages of therapeutic products by introducing an import framework to facilitate access to medicines and medical devices in exceptional circumstances.These new regulations may also help overcome supply chain challenges and reduce the chance of veterinary drug shortages in Canada.
Additionally, in the early days of the pandemic, the Minister of Health Canada had passed an interim order to provide an accelerated framework for clinical trials of COVID-19 drugs and medical devices.In February 2022, the Regulations were amended to continue and formalize these rules and provide a more flexible clinical trial pathway for COVID-19 drugs and medical devices.These rules will be used to expedite the approval of veterinary COVID-19 drugs.
In a rare Canadian case related to the animal health industry, the Superior Court of Quebec in November 2020 authorized a class action lawsuit against Intervet on behalf of Quebec dog owners to pursue damages suffered as a result of dogs being treated with BRAVECTO® (fluralaner).The fluralaner allegedly caused various health conditions in the dogs, and the defendants allegedly failed to provide warnings.The crux of the authorization (certification) issue is whether Quebec consumer protection law applies to the sale of veterinary drugs by veterinarians.Following a similar ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal against pharmacists, the high court ruled that it did not.In late April 2022, the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned, holding that the question of whether the Consumer Protection Act applies to the sale of veterinary drugs should continue to be heard (Gagnon c. Intervet Canada Corp., 2022 QCCA 553[1],
In early 2022, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a farmer’s lawsuit against the Canadian government on the grounds that the Canadian government had negligently failed to keep mad cow disease out of Canada starting in 2003 (Flying E Ranche Ltd. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2022). ONSC 60 [2]. The trial judge held that the Government of Canada did not have a duty of care to farmers, and if a duty of care did exist, the federal government had not acted unreasonably or breached the standard of care of a reasonable regulator. The High Court also held that the The lawsuit is barred by the Crown Liability and Procedure Act because Canada has paid out nearly $2 billion in financial assistance to farmers under the Farm Protection Act to cover losses due to border closures.
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Post time: Jun-01-2022