Weekly Companion Animal News: September 8, 2025

Banfield’s new Access Plan provides ‘budget-friendly’ care

Banfield is calling its new Access Plan “a lower-cost package of simplified pet care,” distinct from the company’s Optimum Wellness Plans. The plan offers clients unlimited office visits, two comprehensive exams per year, an annual heartworm test, a 10% discount on most Banfield products and services, 24/7 access to Pet Chat vet professionals and access to the Banfield App for scheduling and pet health tracking.

SignalPET introduces fully integrated radiology product

Veterinary diagnostics maker SignalPET announced the launch of SignalPET 360⁰, designed to provide in a single platform AI-driven triage, a complete AI report and access to 24/7 radiologist-signed reports. The system automatically scans for 66 critical pathologies, generates a complete interpretation based on models trained on 20 million annotated radiographs, and provides 24/7 access to a team of board-certified radiologists.

New SoundByte: Felycin-CA1

Felycin-CA1 from PRN Pharmacal is conditionally approved by the FDA for management of ventricular hypertrophy in cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Available in three different strengths, Felycin-CA1 is the first and only disease-modifying drug for cats with HCM. Find more in the SoundByte from Veterinary Advantage.

Cencora names Mark Durcan chairman of the Board of Directors

Pharmaceutical distributor Cencora appointed Lead Independent Director Mark Durcan as Board chairman, effective Oct. 1. He will succeed Steve Collis, who has served as chairman since 2016 and previously served as CEO from 2011 to 2024. “As Lead Independent Director, Mark has played an integral role in the Board’s work to oversee the company’s pharmaceutical-centric strategy,” said Robert Mauch, Cencora’s president and CEO.

Covetrus reports that VetSuite drives $30 million in savings for independents

Covetrus said its VetSuite network member clinics report a 25% higher profit margin than non-members. Members experienced a 30% increase in use of their online storefronts, with 78% of clients returning for repeat purchases, and clinics using vRxPro’s full capabilities, such as customized marketing and automated prescription reminders, reported a 75% increase in online prescription revenue.

Radiation therapy shrinks dog’s brain tumor

Veterinarians at UC Davis successfully shrunk a brain tumor in a Jack Russel terrier with three doses of stereotactic radiotherapy, a type of radiation therapy that uses CT scanning and MRI guidance for precise delivery of radiation into a targeted tissue area. The hospital’s linear accelerator allows the treatment to be as precise as less than 1 millimeter from the edge of the tumor.

New street drug ‘flysky’ causes alarm in Western Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh-area doctors are sounding the alarm on medetomidine, a veterinary tranquilizer that’s increasingly permeating street drugs like “flysky” in Western Pennsylvania. Unlike heroin or fentanyl, medetomidine doesn’t respond to naloxone products such as the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdose, said Dr. Michael Lynch, senior medical director of UPMC Health Plan’s Quality and Substance Use Disorder Services.

Snoretox wins 2025 Animal Health Summit Innovation Award

Snoretox captured the 2025 Animal Health Summit’s Innovation Award for its promising therapy to treat brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, a condition that affects bulldogs, pugs and other short-snouted breeds. The injectable treatment strengthens muscle tone using tetanus toxin to keep canine airways open. The Innovation Award, bestowed by leaders of the KC Animal Health Corridor, capped the Summit’s 20th anniversary gathering.