Elanco Animal Health Incorporated announced the launch of its multi-year campaign, Defend Puppies. Defeat Parvo, to save 1 million puppies from the highly contagious canine parvovirus (parvo). The campaign wants to increase education to pet parents about this disease and increase access veterinarians have to its USDA conditionally approved Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody. 

"Parvo doesn't have to be a death sentence. Our innovative treatment for parvovirus can help veterinarians and pet owners alleviate the emotional toll associated with parvo," said Jennifer Miller, DVM, technical veterinarian with Elanco, in an organizational release.

 "Elanco's Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody is redefining how we treat the disease, but we can't defeat parvo alone. We're calling all veterinarians and dog lovers to join our mission and help us save more dogs, more quickly. Together, we can save 1 million puppies by 2030."

The campaign is working to reach more puppies quickly by:

A newly established Elanco’s Defenders Fund offers up to $1 million in rebate incentives from Elanco to veterinarians who purchase the Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody to help veterinarians treat more parvo cases. Veterinarians can track rebates via myElanco rewards. 

The creation of Parvo Defenders Task Force is made up of industry leaders and advocates such as Mars Veterinary Health, IDEXX, Kristin Zersen, DVM, MS, DACVECC, Hunter Finn, DVM, Fred Metzer, DVM, MRCVS, DABVP, and more bringing awareness to parvo and its treatment options. The companies and veterinarians will work to bring awareness to this disease and its treatment options as well as share insights on pain points associated with diagnosing and treating parvo.

A grassroots campaign enlisting and empowering dog owners, pet lovers, and veterinarians, to take the Defend Puppies. Defeat Parvo's pledge to stop puppies from dying from parvo and promise to do their part to save 1 million puppies by 2030.

"I'm hoping that the canine parvovirus monoclonal antibody will become the standard of care," expressed Metzger.

 "If we make it our first line of therapy, I think you could divert cases away from the ER and back to the private practitioner, where we can treat a large number of parvo puppies that are not even being looked at right now. I'm hoping it will free up emergency clinics a little bit more to really handle the cases that need more immediate care. I see no reason why the canine parvovirus monoclonal antibody wouldn't be the standard of care moving forward."

To learn more about the campaign’s missions and Elanco’s Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody, check out DefeatParvo.com.

Elanco launches multi-year mission to save 1 million puppies from canine parvovirus. News release. Elanco Animal Health. January 17, 2024. Accessed January 18, 2024. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/elanco-launches-multi-year-mission-to-save-1-million-puppies-from-canine-parvovirus-302036358.html

Articles

Elanco’s Defend Puppies. Defeat Parvo. mission is working to increase education and increase use of its conditionally approved treatment for parvovirus

Campaign to save 1 million puppies from canine parvovirus is officially underway 

When it comes to pet emergencies, no one expects a situation in which the pet needs surgery to happen. Although there are ways to help pet parents prepare, such as encouraging them to invest in pet insurance, what happens when a pet goes into the surgical suite and there is not enough blood product available at the clinic? 

On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Jessie Brown, LVT, blood bank director at Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), and Ken Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC), (SAIM), Chief Veterinary Nursing Officer for VEG and program director for the RECOVER Initiative joined host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to talk about creating an internal blood bank at VEG, and what the donation process looks like. 

 There's a big need for blood products in our industry. I think in the last couple of years, the veterinary industry has really grown, whether that was COVID-driven or not, I'm not sure. But I think people are now evaluating their pets more as like a family member and so they're bringing them more inside and the veterinary industry has felt that. On that spectrum is their blood products. No one ever really thinks about blood until you're in that situation where you need it. And so now in our industry, there's anywhere from 8-20 week wait for one type of blood product. And this blood product expires just about every month. So every month, and that's your red cell blood products, you're having to get these products into your hospital and if you're having to sit on a waiting list, that means a lot of our hospitals are going without. 

With VEG we're growing, and we're opening up new hospitals and so it's really hard to heat blood products in our hospitals in an emergency situation, and that's where a lot of your blood usage comes from. And so we just kind of sat back and we're like, how are we going to fix this issue for our hospital systems? And that's [when we decided] we should build a blood bank internally, to help supply all of our hospitals because we have the ability to do that. And so we always want to be able to say yes to our patients and our customers and having products in our fridges and freezers is a way for us to always say yes. 

In recognition of National Blood Donor Month, Jessie Brown, LVT, blood bank director at Veterinary Emergency Group, and Ken Yagi, MS, RVT, VTS (ECC), (SAIM), chief veterinary nursing officer at Veterinary Emergency Group, discuss animal blood banks 

Blood banks in veterinary medicine

ELIAS Animal Health announced today that the USDA for Veterinary Biologics determined the data from its ECI-OSA-04 pivotal combined safety and efficacy study demonstrated a reasonable expectation of efficiency. This determination is a critical milestone on the licensure pathway.

"We are thrilled to achieve this important milestone with our first cancer product," said Tammie Wahaus, CEO of ELIAS Animal Health, in an organizational release.

 "I want to thank the pet owners who enrolled their dogs in the ECI-OSA-04 study, the veterinarians for their perseverance to complete the study during a pandemic, and my team for their tireless dedication. We are excited to bring this advanced personalized medicine to the veterinary market and provide a new tool in the fight against cancer."

According to the release, the two-arm field safety and efficiency (n=100) study is currently one of the largest clinical trials to be conducted in canine cancer and is the first to evaluate a start-of-the-art adoptive cell therapy to treat canine cancer.

 The treatment being tested, the ELISA Cancer Immunotherapy (ECI), works by training the patient’s immune system to recognize the patient’s unique cancer to then deliver activated killer T cells to target and attack those specific cancer cells.

ECI will continue to be available as an experimental biologic for veterinary use before its commercial launch, which ELISA disclosed is expected to be later in 2024, under its existing 9 CFR 103.3 authorization while remaining regulatory actions are finalized. This will secure a first-class Autologous Prescription Product License.

ELIAS has plans to raise $10 million Series A to help support manufacturing expansion and a commercial launch of the ECI product. The company will also use the money raised to continue developing its product pipeline, including oncolytic immunotherapy, a pilot study that will combine ECI with a conditionally approved checkpoint inhibitor, and a pilot study evaluating adoptive cell therapy in large breed dogs through a sophisticated surgical technique to help avoid amputation.

USDA agrees clinical trial data for the ELIAS Cancer Immunotherapy (ECI®) demonstrates reasonable expectation of efficacy for the treatment of bone cancer in dogs. News release. ELIAS Animal Health. January 17, 2024. Accessed January 17, 2024. https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usda-agrees-clinical-trial-data-for-the-elias-cancer-immunotherapy-eci-demonstrates-reasonable-expectation-of-efficacy-for-the-treatment-of-bone-cancer-in-dogs-302036500.html

The adoptive cell therapy for treating osteosarcoma has surpassed a crucial milestone for achieving licensure

USDA determines reasonable expectation of efficacy from trial data on the treatment of osteosarcoma 

One of the things on my mind recently is how to design spaces to help veterinary practices serve clients better. This is especially important in today’s market, where more demand is placed on veterinary professionals than they can readily handle, and where veterinary medicine is continuously evolving to meet those needs. Space design is only part of the answer, and the bigger picture is about creating happy clients and providing great care to their pets, which lead to thriving veterinary practices.

Imagine you are in the drive-through line at your favorite coffee shop. There are 3 cars ahead of you and someone orders several complicated coffee drinks for their office mates. As employees of the coffee shop rush to catch up, the line has become impossibly long, and customers are becoming annoyed. This causes prolonged pressure on the employees inside the store. 

This is the type of problem that can be solved with a new approach, such as designing for 2 drive-through lines, designating a side waiting area where a customer with a large order can park so the rest of the queue can advance more efficiently, or encouraging online orders, so the shop can prepare customers’ orders ahead of time.

Waiting in a veterinary lobby is very similar to waiting in an inefficient drive-through line. Waiting offers no benefit to the client and can cause more stress for their pet. When planning the design and operation of your practice, consider that time is precious for everyone.

Here are just a few ideas to save time and create better customer service.

Once the client is in a room, at least they have been processed, which means that easy tech appointments can keep rolling, while the doctor is tied up with the high-needs client and their ancient, medically complex pet. This is the veterinary equivalent of the complex coffee order.

Clients who can sign in, pay, and authorize care on their smartphones can do that from anywhere, which means desks can be smaller, and fewer people will be milling around in your lobby.

Make waiting an intentional and comfortable activity

If a client wants to wait for their pet to receive care or if you have the type of practice where long-term waiting is normal, such as an emergency practice, then make waiting special. Design long-term waiting space that has Wi-Fi enabled, comfortable seating, coffee available, and is quiet and aesthetically pleasing. This can be off to the side of the main hospital entry, so it is out of the flow of activity.

Design for the practice you want it to be

Do your customer-care spaces and exam rooms read as visually cluttered? Are they disorganized? Are they inefficient? Are they dated? No one wants to reflect these impressions because they are not representative of who you are. They don’t reflect the quality of care you provide to clients and pets; it’s just how things have evolved. Take the time to clean up and professionalize all the front-end spaces of your hospital and show who you really are when taking care of clients and their pets. If you’re designing a new hospital, this is your opportunity to decide how your values will be reflected in your customer-care areas.

These are some of the wonderful trends we are seeing in lobby and exam room design.

Use branded colors, branded graphics, and very carefully chosen signage, furnishings, and desk design. You do not have to spend more money on construction to be more thoughtful, but you may need to spend more time on the front-end design. Your bespoke hospital interior will reflect that you are highly professional and intentional in all that you do.

Photo courtesy of Dr Treat Veterinary Care.

This has not gone out of style now that minimalism has faded because it is still important to keep a space clean and decluttered. Do not accumulate clutter and create tidy customer-care areas. Desks should be free of piles of paper. Advertised services and products should be carefully and thoughtfully displayed. Signage should be minimal, and seating areas should be clean. One tip is to keep decorative items on shelves on walls where they can be cleaned, rather than at floor level, where they accumulate dust and dirt. For example, a pretty plant on a wall shelf can be dusted more easily than one in a big pot on the floor.

A great example of this is with furniture. Human health care has helped create a market for furniture that is beautiful, inclusive, easily usable for people with a variety of body types and abilities, and highly cleanable. Do not purchase hard plastic chairs if you’re trying to put clients first. Purchase the type of seating you find comfortable and would want to sit on.

One concern about highly professional spaces is that they trend toward a sterile impression. This is why many of our corporate clients and private practice clients have introduced homey touches and whimsical items, such as artwork that makes people smile.

Photo courtesy of Small Door: Newton Centre – Boston, Massachusetts, Photography: Greg Moine, Illustration: Jean Jullien

An outdoor space can be much more pleasant for clients than a crowded lobby. If you want to create the impression of kind care delivered in a calming and destressed environment, having indoor/outdoor client areas and exam rooms can help reinforce this value.

Photo courtesy of Small Door: Newton Centre – Boston, Massachusetts, Photography: Greg Moine

If you look at architecture magazines or the beautiful designs of new corporate hospital lobbies, it may seem that customer care is an arms race, with the hospitals that create the fanciest lobbies as the winners. However, a key factor in designing a beautiful but affordable hospital is to keep it simple. Here are several traditional features that you can do away with:

Child play areas. These are germy, and every parent has an electronic device. It’s fine not to have a play space in your lobby.

Retail. Unless you have the rare practice where retail makes money, such as a rural hospital where clients still come in to purchase supplies, then eliminate retail. If you do have retail, just a very small, thoughtful display is usually enough. Do not store products in the lobby.

Vaulted ceilings. Save thousands of dollars on cathedral ceilings and focus instead on the most beautiful color of paint, signage, a feature wall using a graphic or tile, and a stylish light fixture. This is enough, and it costs way less money than fancy architecture.

Free decor. Don’t put up the flea-and-tick-prevention signage and other flotsam of free decor that your vendors send you. Everything you design and communicate should be curated.

Other expensive items such as fish tanks and huge TVs are unnecessary and do not need to be purchased and/or maintained.

I love that today’s veterinary architecture is about building and supporting functional relationships between people. Happy clients and pets make for a happy practice. Do away with the traditional trappings of lobbies and exam rooms. Pare down these spaces and keep them simple, intentional, beautiful, and professional. Use everyone’s time as wisely as possible by doing away with waiting for waiting’s sake. Cut away the architecture and make every customer-care space about the care team, the client, and the pet.

How veterinary practices can up their game on lobby and public area design

Creating exceptional lobbies and customer-care areas

A new book from Ryane E. Englar, DVM, DABVP (Canine and Feline Practice), titled 

Supporting Pet Owners Through Grief: A Veterinarian’s Guide to Loss

, was published recently, and focuses on providing practitioners and students alike with tools to better understand grief and its impact on the human-animal bond. Englar also helps all veterinary team members learn how to navigate their own emotions as they experience and process recurrent grief that can contribute to compassion fatigue and burnout in this profession.

This pet accessory has a dual role as both a harness and coat to keep dogs safe and warm during colder weather. The Fit & Go closure system designed by Cloak & Dawggie allows dogs to step in easily, and the fabric sits comfortably at the top of the chest and under the rib cage. To provide free movement and mobility, the ergonomic design features wide straps for better flexibility. The fleece lining keeps the pet insulated but remains lightweight. Styles currently available include camel plaid fleece and black plaid fleece.

A new epigenetic age test from myDNAge sheds light on a dog’s rate of aging and delivers key data points on their health with a simple cheek swab. The test can also examine specific genetic variations and mutations that influence a dog’s physical appearance, cognitive function, and disease risk. The test is currently available only in the United States, and owners can ship back the kit to receive results in approximately 8 weeks.

Photo courtesy of WellVu Veterinary Thermal Imaging.

WellVu Veterinary Thermal Imaging—a thermal imaging technology company, formerly Digatherm—announced it has received recognition as a Fear Free Preferred Product. This makes WellVu Veterinary Thermal Imaging the first and currently only company in this category to achieve this recognition. This thermal imaging technology can be used in veterinary clinics to proactively screen patients for any underlying conditions, detect abnormalities, and objectively monitor the progress of treatment.

Photo courtesy of Lick Sleeve and PetPath.

Lick Sleeve, an alternative to traditional e-collars or recovery cones, has teamed up with PetPath, a recovery support platform for pet owners, to launch a free, interactive care path designed to help pet owners manage their dog’s recovery after tibial plateau leveling osteotomy surgery. The app includes daily recovery guidance, guided checklists, instructional videos, and interactive questions.

WagWell, a dog wellness brand, has unveiled a supplement collection of chewable tablets formulated with sustainable omega fatty acids to support dog health and wellness. The supplements include Ahiflower, a plant-based omega oil that is sustainably harvested; free of genetically modified organisms; and an excellent source of gamma-linolenic acid from omega-6 fatty acids, which helps promotes the skin barrier function, serves as an anti-inflammatory, and complements eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid omega-3 fatty acids.

Here's our regular rundown of new and notable veterinary products

dvm360® product report: Grief support book, plus surgery recovery app, and more

Veterinary Hero winners honored at the 2023 Fetch dvm360 conference in Kansas City, MO.

Nominations are now open for the fourth annual dvm360® Veterinary Heroes Awards, a celebration of individuals who have achieved landmark successes within veterinary medicine. With the teamwork of our category sponsors, Blue Buffalo Natural and Banfield Pet Hospital, the program honors veterinary leaders selected by their peers for their remarkable achievements in improving patient outcomes.

Selected by a panel of distinguished judges, 1 honoree who makes a measurable difference to improve patient outcomes will be named in each category. The 11 categories are as follows:

Internal Medicine (This can include specialities in Nutrition, Oncology, Internal Medicine, and/or Neurology)

Veterinary Paraprofessional (non-credentialed support staff)

A veterinary hero can be many things, but to qualify for an award, nominees will be judged on the following:

Aptitude to go above and beyond in-patient care.

Impact towards a patient, client, team, or community.

Aptitude for showing patience, compassion, and perseverance in the face of difficulties.

Understanding of the science and how treatments are designed.

From this criteria, the nomination form will ask nominators to provide a thorough and thoughtful description of how the nominee has recently demonstrated a significant impact in the veterinary field.

If you think someone you know is a Veterinary Hero, please visit our 

 and use the online form to guide you through the nomination process. Submissions must be completed on or before April 15, 2024 to be considered.

Honor a dedicated veterinary professional by submitting a nomination by April 15, 2024