The Rise of Biotech for Pets

Pet owners are willing to do almost anything to ensure their cats and dogs are healthy and happy. That dedication is fueling the boom of savvy biotech startups who are finding innovative new ways to improve and prolong the lives of companion animals.

A decade ago, it would have been difficult for most people to foresee a future in which the medical advances we’ve developed to treat humans with serious illnesses or chronic health disorders would extend to pets. Today, animal-focused biotech has expanded into a $24 billion industry.

Though animal-focused biotech has been around for a long time, its application has been limited almost entirely to livestock. Ninety percent of drugs used for treating animals — livestock and pets alike — were originally developed for human consumption. Biotech with animal-specific research and development and dedicated application to companion animals is a relatively new and explosively growing phenomenon that is generating intense media buzz and attracting enormous investment. For example, in 2014, Elias Animal Health sought $700 thousand in startup capital and walked away with more than $2 million. Another pet-focused biotech startup, Aratana Therapeutics, raised $40 million in its initial public offering.

Though many of the drugs that are safe and effective for humans are equally so for animals, the use of human antibody and cell therapies in animals provokes an immune response. This cross-species incompatibility has driven biotechnical advances in pet-specific antibody and cell therapies that hold untapped market potential.

Capitalizing on the demand for pet-specific therapeutics, Nexvet — which has raised more than $80 million since its founding in 2011 — modifies antibodies that have been engineered for humans, making them safe and effective treatments for pets.

Aratana Therapeutics has also taken on the challenge of developing antibody therapies for pets and is seeking regulatory approval to tackle canine and feline cancer with a vaccine that deploys bacterium to target malignant cells. Aratana plans to expand into cell therapies and Steven St. Peter, president of Aratana, aims for his company to be at the head of the line in gaining approval from the FDA for a stem-cell therapy. Though the USDA oversees immune-system based animal vaccines and biologics, regulatory approval for small molecules and other animal-specific drugs is overseen by the FDA.

While traditional biotech companies must first run the regulatory gauntlet of conducting pre-clinical trials on animals before proceeding to human testing, pet biotech companies can come out of the gate running by beginning their trials with the species the drugs under development are intended to treat. Before a given drug reaches the market for human use, it may have spent 5-10 years in clinical trials, whereas drugs intended for pets can move through safety testing and preliminary efficacy studies in as little as 18 months.

This is good news for people who love their pets and want access to treatment for them as soon as possible, no matter how much it might cost. Though cancer treatment for dogs at the bone-marrow transplant clinic at North Carolina State University can cost upwards of $24 thousand, there has been no shortage of patients. Given that a 2015 Harris Poll revealed that 95 percent of dog and cat owners reported that they regarded their pets as members of the family, it’s no wonder that the boom in pet-based biotech is only the beginning of a long and bright future.

At Lifecycle Biotechnologies, we have for many years played a crucial piece in the latest advancements in Animal Health by supplying sheath fluid for flow cytometry, water for embryo transfer, BSA for animal vaccines, and a handful of other products. Our products are behind many life-improving and life-saving biomedical discoveries and healthcare innovations for people and pets alike. If you’d like to see how our innovative tools and services can help your company lead the way in cutting-edge biomedical research, contact us today and see what we can do for you.