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Business & Economics
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Rise of veterinary chain ownership begets Canadian group purchasing
4/10/2013
Uniform pricing tradition gives way
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Banfield expansion brings new stand-alone clinics
3/28/2013
Eight in Portland, Ore.; other cities possible
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Group purchasing activity on upswing in veterinary medicine
2/28/2013
Organizations proffer bulk discounts to independent practices
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Is the doctor in?
12/5/2012
Veterinarians grapple with demand for extended hours
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Ultrasound machine salesman pleads guilty to theft
11/8/2012
Plea follows indictment of Patrick Jackson
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Satellite practices: academic evolution or unfair competition?
10/26/2012
OSU to open emergency, specialty practice in Columbus suburb
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Veterinarians recount ordeals with major lender
9/6/2012
Wells Fargo strives to 'serve as a trusted advisor to veterinarians'
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Hospital chain headhunts for talent among veterinary practice staff
7/3/2012
Veterinarians debate ethics of Banfield's recruiting methods
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No simple answers on supply and demand in veterinary profession
5/29/2012
Workforce data outdated, conflicting
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Veterinarian opens up about going undercover
5/22/2012
Flea-product diversion adventure twisted, turned
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Veterinarian investigates illicit diversion of flea products
5/8/2012
Gray-market sales veiled by deception, intrigue
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‘Why are vets so expensive?’
4/13/2012
Practitioner tackles sensitive question
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Veterinary diagnostics giant sues multiple practitioners
3/9/2012
VCA Antech alleges breach of extended lab service contracts
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VCA Antech buys largest Canadian veterinary chain
1/26/2012
Associate Veterinary Clinics operates 44 clinics in three provinces
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Veterinarians confront Internet pharmacy PetMed Express
1/16/2012
Company acknowledges: ‘Some mistakes were made’
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Veterinary practices inch back to growth
1/1/2012
Surveys of third-quarter results show some improvement
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PetMed Express stumbles
12/8/2011
Competitive pressure up in veterinary-drug sales
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Credit card processors pass costs of IRS rule to merchants
12/2/2011
Negotiate to have fees waived, expert advises
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Loan broker accused of bilking veterinarians now sells wellness plans
11/10/2011
Ron Paterson draws more complaints
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Bid to bring veterinary education to Alaska stirs debate
11/9/2011
Fears of oversaturation weigh on need for more veterinarians
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Merial knows, diverting veterinarians assert
11/4/2011
Maker of Frontline denies the company condones, encourages diversion
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More veterinarians sue flea products broker WTF Wholesale
11/4/2011
Claims collectively top a half-million dollars
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Equipment dealer deludes some, aids others
11/2/2011
Ron Sassetti earns mixed reviews from veterinarians
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‘Free’ Hill’s cat food samples not exactly free
10/24/2011
Veterinary clinics report accepting samples triggers orders for more
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Subterfuge, confusion surround new credit, debit card rules
9/30/2011
Merchant savings on fees not automatic
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VCA's buy of Vetstreet raises worries about control of clinic data
9/1/2011
New owner says it will not inspect clinic information
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Complaints mount against gray-market broker WTF Wholesale
8/29/2011
Problems open view into world of flea product diversion
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Entest to use veterinary practices as revenue driver, research venue
8/23/2011
Concerns about setup point to potential conflicts of interest
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Amerisource Medical under investigation by police in two states
8/3/2011
Ultrasound-equipment vendor accused of cheating customers
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Out of the frying pan, veterinarians mix economic uptick with uncertainty
7/28/2011
Increased competition likely to blunt recovery for veterinary clinics
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New poll finds many clinics in flagging health
7/18/2011
Study: Advertising, communication, consistency key to boosting veterinary visits
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Pfizer seeks to unload animal health division
7/8/2011
Sale or spin-off expected
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Tight job market squeezes large-animal veterinarians
6/27/2011
Some say shortage of food-supply practitioners is over
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Gilded Lilly? Bayer challenges Elanco claims
6/24/2011
Bayer challenges Elanco claims about diversion, loyalty to veterinarians
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Veterinary technicians: Opportunities, but at what cost?
6/9/2011
Support staff cite low wages, spotty professional respect
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Tough job market compels dogged hunt by new veterinarians
5/19/2011
Fewer grads enjoy luxury of multiple offers
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Proposal for new Banfield hospital prevails over objections
5/6/2011
Veterinarians in California city seek to resist ‘Wal-Martization’
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ISU wins first round in litigation against veterinarians
5/3/2011
Specialists barred from competing with ISU hospitals fight back
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PLIT rolls back workers' comp advice for relief veterinarians
3/29/2011
Broker Hub International issues clarification
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Thrift commerce meets veterinary medicine in GroupDVM
2/10/2011
Company uses 'power in numbers' to leverage deals for veterinarians
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Study: Veterinarians can reverse decline in visits
1/27/2011
Report identifies contributing factors and ways to counter the trend
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Price soars on popular antibiotic metronidazole
1/13/2011
Limited competition among manufacturers behind increase
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Target tests market for pet medications
12/22/2010
Trend in retail sales of veterinary drugs accelerating
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Veterinarian struggles to protect her online reputation
12/8/2010
Practitioner suspects Internet extortion is at play
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Canine Health Institute closing its doors
11/18/2010
Veterinary center for pain, rehab, imaging, neurosurgery was unique
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Clinic owner struggles with ultrasound-equipment vendor
11/17/2010
Amerisource Medical blames veterinarian’s location for shipment delay
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Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program gets off ground
11/9/2010
First USDA awards go to 62 recipients
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Frontline, ProMeris not going OTC, manufacturers say
11/8/2010
Veterinary market research survey gives confusing message
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NAS veterinary workforce study nears release
10/28/2010
Stakeholders expect report to shed light on supply and demand in America
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Navigating credit card security requirements
10/21/2010
Compliance isn't cheap or easy
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PetMed Express reports slip in sales
10/19/2010
Ad costs rise as consumer spending falls with the online pharmacy
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Lawsuit raises questions about sale of drugs to non-veterinarian
10/13/2010
Case brought by Bayer against shelter rescheduled for Dec. 2 hearing
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Health credit programs: safety net or predatory lending?
10/4/2010
NY state investigation puts veterinarians on the defensive
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CEVA buys Summit VetPharm
9/2/2010
Plans to market Vectra parasiticides globally
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Just say 'no' to telephone solicitors
8/23/2010
Clinic owners describe latest scheme involving Discover, Legal Club of America
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PVP, subsidiaries seek bankruptcy protection
8/23/2010
Veterinarians dismayed by state of company
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PVP faces bankruptcy; veterinarian investors stand to lose
8/12/2010
SEC filings reveal distributor entered into forbearance with lender
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Economic recovery still bumpy for veterinarians
6/8/2010
After first-quarter gains, California veterinary practice revenues slip in April
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Bayer wins some, loses some
4/28/2010
New sales policy continues to reverberate
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Veterinary publishers mixed on future of print journals
4/23/2010
Amid advertising decline, MediMedia bets on online services; others say print runs far from over
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Veterinarians bear brunt of software shortfalls, vendor growing pains
4/12/2010
VIA asks for patience as company updates practice management software
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Businesses join veterinarian in Yelp class action lawsuit
4/1/2010
DVMs need guidance for dealing with online reviews
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PetSmart first retailer to carry Advantage under new Bayer policy
3/17/2010
Banfield and other clinics turn away
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Merial details company stance on product diversion
2/26/2010
Executives speak out after veterinarians question company loyalty
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Bayer opens flea product sales to retail outlets
2/10/2010
Citing diversion, company ends policy of selling only through veterinarians
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PM software maker ImproMed buys VETECH
1/16/2010
Second acquisition for ImproMed within six months
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2009 brought huge consolidations in animal health industry
12/21/2009
Butler and Schein merger latest in a series
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Assets of a slow economy
12/7/2009
Putting life back into the work-life balance equation
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Merial reports Immiticide, Heartgard shortages
12/5/2009
Rationing of Immiticide leaves some veterinarians in a lurch
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Regulatory fee increases raise veterinarians' hackles
10/29/2009
California board readies to impose stiff price increases
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Sidewiki hijacks sites, puts reputations at risk, critics say
10/2/2009
Dangers of Google review tool spark concerns from veterinarians
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Online directory earns mixed reviews from veterinarians
9/16/2009
VINners air grievances about LocalVets.com, now known as YextVets
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Survey suggests recession spares many veterinary practices
9/3/2009
Reports show specialty, emergency practices bear brunt of downturn
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Activists go after stores selling dogs from puppy mills
7/27/2009
Movement to stamp out large commercial breeders gains traction
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California tax officials target breeders via Internet
6/29/2009
Officials search for those who skirt tax obligations
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Funding woes kill Fresno lab, haunt DVM program
6/26/2009
Calif. budget crisis wreaks havoc on veterinary medical education
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Advanta Bank to close all credit accounts this week
5/27/2009
Card issuer catered to small businesses
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Veterinarians must comply with Red Flags Rule by May 1
4/22/2009
Most practice owners already meet requirements, AVMA official says
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Veterinary charity highlighted by economic woes
3/30/2009
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Economic downturn hits veterinary practices
3/11/2009
New VIN survey results anticipated
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COBRA subsidy puts more onus on employers
3/3/2009
New rules likely burdensome, experts say
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Calif. veterinary service tax proposal dies
2/25/2009
Issue could re-emerge in future budgets
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Off the table?
2/12/2009
Calif. sales tax on veterinary services loses steam
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Tax experts stress the economy this year
2/3/2009
Pay attention to practice management, they say
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New center aspires to help dogs that might otherwise be euthanized
2/2/2009
Rehab, pain management and imaging under one roof in Houston
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Reports show veterinary practices hurting
12/24/2008
Veterinarians feeling nation's longest recession in a quarter century
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Fed adopts consumer credit-card protections
12/19/2008
VIN members wary of other finance deals
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Fuel prices drop, yet surcharges remain for diagnostic services
12/18/2008
DVMs push back; Antech drafts letter to explain fees
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Survey Finds Economy Eroding Revenues
12/5/2008
The present depression in the economy is starting to be felt now, according to a survey of Veterinary Information Network members.
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Dr. Tice's interest rates reversed and refunded
11/26/2008
In a classic case of oil going to the squeaky wheel, a veterinarian whose soaring credit card interest fees roused indignation has gotten a refund on excessive interest charges.
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Henry Schein Executive Says Privacy Rules Impede Inquiry Into Credit Card Rate Hikes
11/20/2008
Company says most cardholders are unaffected
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Soaring credit card rates raise eyebrows, hackles
11/14/2008
Dr. Tice warns colleagues to watch their credit card interest rate; Henry Schein offers to advocate on behalf of customers using their affinity card.
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Sales Tax on Veterinary Services
11/11/2008
California may impose a sales tax of as much as 10.25 percent on veterinary services if a proposed economic plan from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is passed.
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Brokers say Economy Not Hindering Capital
10/28/2008
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Pet food prices squeeze owners, veterinarians
10/27/2008
Prescription diets costs skyrocket, setting off consumers
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Brakke to release economic downturn report
10/10/2008
Study to publish in mid-December
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AVMA to release economic data
9/9/2008
Biennial economic survey, starting salaries report set for publication
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Handshakes are history; read the fine print, consultant says
8/26/2008
Product purchase gone wrong burns veterinarian
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CPA accused of stealing $2.7 million from VPI
7/23/2008
Stephen Anthony Friekin faces 103 felony counts of money laundering
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Feeling the economic pinch? Stop giving away services, consultant says
7/22/2008
Dr. Thomas Catanzaro suggests ways to earn more income
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Landscape for business refinancing wide open, bankers say
Go local for low rates, veterinarian suggests
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On the record
The VIN News Service recently conducted a Q&A session with the American Veterinary Medical Association and its indemnity arm, the Group Health and Life Insurance Trust (AVMA-GHLIT). The discussion explores the controversial partnership that’s emerged between GHLIT and Pets Best Insurance, a private entity.
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Bayer opens flea product sales to retail outlets
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February 10, 2010
By: Edie Lau
For The VIN News Service
Bayer Animal Health announced Tuesday an end to its decades-old policy of selling Advantage and K-9 Advantix flea and tick prevention products exclusively through veterinarians.
Citing ongoing consumer demand for more convenient access, the company said it will sell its parasiticides directly to pet specialty retailers and pet specialty Internet sites beginning in March.
The products already have been carried for some time by outlets such as Petco and the online pharmacy Pet Med Express, which apparently obtain the merchandise through clandestine “gray market” channels. The practice is not illegal — the law does not require pet parasiticides to be sold to consumers only by veterinarians — but has been a violation of the major companion-animal-health companies’ sales policies and a sore point in the veterinary community.
The situation upsets some practitioners who say they are able to offer lower medical-service fees thanks to income from sales of parasiticides and other products. Some clinicians also feel they’ve been exploited by companies to build brand loyalty among pet owners.
Expressing a resentment shared by others, Dr. Carl Darby, a practitioner in Seneca Falls, N.Y., wrote in an online discussion of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN): “I guess they have decided that they do not need their free sales force any more. Someone at Bayer must have decided that they can make more money and sell more product through retailers.”
Darby added in an interview by e-mail with the VIN News Service, “I hope that Bayer understands that losing their highly educated, motivated and dedicated free sales force may have long-term impacts on their business, and it may be difficult for them to regain the trust of the profession.”
At the same time, Darby and others lauded Bayer for addressing the problem of product diversion to the gray market head-on.
“At least they are not lying to our faces,” he wrote on VIN, referring to a suspicion in the veterinary community that pharmaceutical companies have been complicit in making flea and tick products available outside of veterinary clinics, either by selling products to retailers without admitting it, or by not aggressively hunting down leaks in the wholesale pipeline.
Officials at pharmaceutical companies such as Merial, maker of the top-selling parasiticide product Frontline, have said that the main source of diverted product is veterinarians themselves.
Given the contentious history of the issue, Bayer’s new sales policy elicited a flurry of opinions even before the change was announced publicly. Many comments posted on VIN were angry. Some practitioners said they would immediately stop carrying Bayer products. Others brainstormed on how they could register collective displeasure with the company’s new stance. But the sentiment was not universal.
Dr. Jami Stromberg of Brooklyn Park, Minn., for example, wrote: “Pesticides are a nice source of income, but I will not live or die on those sales. To protest ... (against) a drug company for acting in their own interest in a completely legal way seems to be a little over the top. I will continue to dispense and recommend the products that I feel are the most useful, and the drug companies will continue to distribute to the stores/clinics/pharmacies that will sell their products. And the sun will rise tomorrow morning like it always does.”
Dr. Albert Ahn, a pharmaceutical company executive who spent about 10 years working on flea and tick prevention products at Merial and Summit VetPharm, said Bayer deserves credit for directly addressing the growing problem of product diversion and veterinarians’ discontent over the issue.
“Bayer’s move was definitely a bold one,” said Ahn, who is currently president of AB Science in New Jersey. “I do think they’re taking a position of leadership. ... It’s my opinion that this will put quite a bit of pressure on other companies to adopt a position and to articulate their sales policy going forward.”
Spokesmen at Novartis, Pfizer and Summit VetPharm told the VIN News Service that their policies of selling product exclusively through veterinarians would remain unchanged.
Merial, maker of Frontline, which appears to be the most-diverted flea and tick prevention product in the country, said it would release a statement on the subject "soon," but had not done so as of 2 p.m. EST today.
In early 2009, the makers of pet parasiticides affirmed their commitments to their veterinary-only sales policy in interviews with the VIN News Service. Bayer spokesman Bob Walker said last March: “We believe in our sales policy and continue to abide by it for its support of the veterinary profession and the value that veterinarians bring to pets and pet owners.”
In Tuesday’s announcement, apparently anticipating some negative reaction, Joerg Ohle, president and general manager of Bayer Animal Health, said: “We cannot stress enough how committed we remain to veterinarians and we intend to build on our long-standing partnerships with new investments in programs and promotions to support their practices, the profession and the industry.”
Toward that end, Bayer said it will launch a multimillion dollar advertising campaign to spotlight the importance of veterinary visits. The ads will appear in print magazines targeted to pet owners and be distributed at the checkout stands of pet specialty stores.
Bayer also said it would introduce a “March Back In” rebate program in which pet owners who buy an Advantage product from licensed veterinarians during the month of March will receive a $20 rebate if they return to the same clinic for their pet's medical care by Dec. 31.
Bayer added that it plans to increase its financial support of the industry through “key associations” including the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. It did not give details on what form the support would take.
Answers to other questions about the policy change — including which retail outlets specifically Bayer will sell to, whether it will attempt to control discount pricing, and whether the sales policy change will apply outside of the United States — were not immediately provided by the company.
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