Weekly Companion Animal News: February 23, 2026

Covetrus and MWI Animal Health to merge

Cencora and Covetrus entered into a definitive agreement under which Covetrus and MWI Animal Health will merge. The deal values MWI at an enterprise value of $3.5 billion. Cencora will receive cash proceeds of $1.25 billion and $800 million of preferred equity while retaining a non-controlling common equity stake of 34.3% in the combined company.

Loyal raises $100M Series C for lifespan extension drugs for dogs

Loyal’s LOY-002, a prescription daily pill, aims to extend the healthy lifespan of senior dogs by targeting the underlying metabolic drivers of aging. In the past year, the company has satisfied two of three major requirements needed for LOY-002’s Expanded Conditional Approval application and market launch from the FDA, and has also completed enrollment in its trial, the STAY study, which is following 1,300 dogs across 70 veterinary clinics nationwide.

Bionote USA launches urine chemistry and sediment analyzer

The Vcheck U urinalysis analyzer screens samples for 15 chemistry and 16 sediment parameters in one unit to help detect metabolic issues, kidney function, infections (including UTIs) and kidney stones. The reagent pack is integrated for easy loading and unloading, and the Vcheck U automatically registers loaded reagents. Centrifugation, supernatant disposal, slide glass and staining are also automated.

Genflow Biosciences report preliminary results for centenarian gene therapy

Genflow Biosciences Plc, a European biotechnology company, announced positive preliminary interim results from its clinical trial evaluating its SIRT6 centenarian gene therapy in aged dogs. Improvements were observed in quality of life, muscle mass preservation, frailty index reduction, and coat quality, relative to control animals, which exhibited expected age-related decline. Several key endpoints remain under evaluation, including biological age determination using methylation clock analysis and comprehensive muscle biopsy histology.

Australian researchers to test Enzistat for dogs with cancer

University of Queensland researchers will test the effectiveness of an immunomodulatory drug, Enzistat, in dogs with inoperable or incurable cancers, targeting solid tumors including soft tissue sarcoma, mast cell tumour and melanoma. Previous compassionate use trials showed Enzistat achieved tumour regression and increased survival time for palliative patients with advanced, late-stage cancers, supporting further evaluation in a formal trial.

AI Task Force urges members to provide ‘critical oversight’ of technology

“It behooves us as potential users to support the need for critical oversight to evaluate and verify the safety and efficacy of AI tools in the routine patient care,” the authors write in their article “The influence, promise and potential perils of artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine” in Jan. 21 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. “The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine AI Task Force encourages members to become actively involved in the processes that determine where, when, and how AI technology is adopted in our fields of expertise.”

VIN Foundation offers student loan estimations

The VIN Foundation’s latest initiative, “40 Veterinary School Loan Estimations in 60 Days,” provides student loan estimations for each veterinary school in the U.S, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands (40 total) to help prospective students understand the impact of major federal student loan policy changes. Estimations will be provided in batches every week throughout the 60-day period ending April 1.

Clues to canine cancer treatment lie in the gut

Canine cancer patients receiving a new form of immunotherapy lived longer or shorter depending on the composition of their microbiome, the community of organisms living in their gut, according to Oregon State University scientists. “Our study is a first step toward using the gut microbiome as a tool to develop prognoses and to manipulate cancer,” said OSU’s Natalia Shulzhenko. More than 4 million dogs die of cancer annually; about half of all dogs that reach age 10 will succumb to cancer, the leading cause of canine death.