Some really big news from the animal health care industry this week. Bayer, one of the largest pharmaceutical outfits in the world, announced that they will start selling popular products like Canine and Feline Topical Advantage and K9 Advantix directly to pet stores and large pet store chains like PetCo and PetsMart. They will also sell these products on-line.
What that means for pet owners is that they don't have to buy these products from veterinarians and they don't need a prescription. It also means these products should be less expensive. By selling directly to retailers, Bayer cuts out one of the typical supply chain links, namely the Veterinary Distributor.
Veterinary distributors buy directly from manufacturers like Bayer and pass on veterinary products to clinics at a higher price. The price difference supports their business and makes it very difficult for veterinarians to be competitive on price with large pet retailers that have the advantage of buying direct.
So it's good news for consumers, pet retailers and Bayer shareholders. Not so good for some vets that depend on sales of these products. Some clinics in areas where fleas are a year round problem derive a significant portion of their practice income from flea control products.
My guess is that five years ago this would have been a bigger issue for many veterinarians, but over that time many practitioners have changed their practice philosophy away from selling stuff to performing high quality medicine and surgery. After all, that's what we were trained to do.
These Bayer products have been around for years and some veterinarians will continue to have them available. Most, I'm guessing, will move to newer generation products like
Summit's Vectra, a product that has been getting rave reviews from vets and pet owners alike.
There are pet health insurance issues that our policy holders should be aware of. If you have a
PurinaCare Plus Preventive Care policy, a twelve month supply of flea control product is covered. However, in the policy language
we'll only cover flea control product purchased from a licensed veterinarian. We'll still cover these Bayer products but not if you buy them at PetsMart.
So, for our PurinaCare Plus Preventive Care policy holders not much has changed, just be sure to stick with the vet for purchases. You'll get good advice and instructions from you veterinarian regardless of the product and that's important. The wrong dosage or the wrong product given to the wrong species can result in serious medical problems and even death.
If you do go OTC be sure to read all the directions carefully. Make sure you have the right product for your dog or cat and make sure you give them the right dosage. These are not innocuous products, they are powerful insecticides and have to be used carefully.
