Initial tests negative

Initial tests for FMD on samples from the Cheale Meats abattoir pig have returned negative results.

Foot and Mouth suspicion in UK

A suspected case of foot and mouth disease in a pig has been detected at Cheale Meats abattoir in Essex in the UK. Samples are currently with the Pirbright laboratory for confirmatory testing. Preliminary results are expected later today.

Cheale Meats abattoir was the site of the initial discovery of foot and mouth in the 2001 UK outbreak.

And the winners are...

Merial and Pfizer led the corporate pack at Animal Pharm's inaugural Animal Health Industry Excellence Awards, held in London's Docklands last night.

Here's a very quick summary of the results:

Animal Health Company of the Year (Sponsored by Norbrook)
Pfizer

Best New Livestock Product (Sponsored by IfTA)
Merial's VAXXITEX HVT + IBD

Best New Equine Veterinary product (Sponsored by Doane Market Research)
Merial's EQUIOXX/PREVICOX

Best New Companion Animal Veterinary Product (sponsored by Klifovet)
Bayer's Profendor

Best Drug Delivery Advance (Sponsored by CF Grass Consulting)
Merial and Bioject's PureVax.

Licensing Deal of the Year award (sponsored by Wood Mackenzie)
Velcera Pharmaceuticals transmucosal oral spray drug delivery technology licence.

Best Supporting Role (sponsored by Dow AgroSciences)
Klifovet.

Achievement or Contribution by a Small Business (sponsored by Hogan and Hartson)
Genitrix Animal Health and Nutrition.

Best Manufacturing/Production Project Award (sponsored by MVP Laboratories)
Centaur Services for its application of 2D barcode technology.

Corporate Social Responsibility (sponsored by Informa Life Sciences)
Indian Immunologicals' remarkable program to make cattle vaccination affordable and accessible to rural Indian farmers, Operation Pratirodh.

The Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by iAdvantage)
Dr Peter Holdsworth, inaugural chief executive of the new Australian industry body, the Animal Health Alliance and a leading force behind the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology.

Congratulations to each of our winners.

Royal Canin

Today, editor Ben Deighton is in France interviewing the CEO of Royal Canin. The company also has announcements in the pipeline about new staff, as does Intervet. Those stories tomorrow...

Max Thomas is out of the office on leave.

And Rosalba O'Brien has, sadly, filed her last story and left the team. We wish her all the very best.

Avian influenza - double whammy...

It seems as though the UK government has placed a large order for a poultry vaccine against H5N1. And the team will also be chasing up a story that a therapeutic of some sort, possibly aimed at companion animals, has been effective in trials.

Helena

Today, the editorial team are mostly...

Editor Ben Deighton is on leave and heading for a short break in Spain.

Deputy Editor Rosalba O'Brien is out of the office this morning and, sadly for the rest of us, this afternoon she'll be preparing handover material for the person who will eventually replace her. Rosalba's last day with Animal Pharm is next Tuesday and she'll be sorely missed.

Reporter Max Thomas is attending the British Veterinary Association meeting in London; he'll be posting news from there on Monday.

And new US reporter Richard Daub joins the team on Monday! He'll be based in the company's New York office and we're really looking forward to having him on board.