Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. has acquired the technology and related assets of the Vetrax wearable sensor technology from its developer AgLogica Holdings, Inc. ("AGL"). Vetrax is a robust monitoring tool and information platform that incorporates state-of-the-art sensor technology and data-sharing capabilities with sophisticated and proprietary dog-behavior algorithms. For the past 3 years, Hill's and AGL had been in a strategic alliance to further develop and optimize the technology working with select veterinary clinics across the US.
Commenting on the acquisition, Jesper Nordengaard, Vice President and General Manager at Hill's Pet Nutrition, said: "Vetrax is already helping veterinarians and pet parents to provide enhanced care for dogs with a variety of conditions. But this is just the beginning. We believe the technology has the potential to further transform veterinary care for dogs and, in time, for cats too. This is the perfect conclusion to the exploratory work that we have done with AGL over the last few years."
Marcel Sarzen, President and CEO at AgLogica Holdings, Inc., said "AGL has done wonderful work with Hills Pet Nutrition and we are very proud of the Vetrax system that has evolved in collaboration with Hill's and our veterinary customers".
And veterinarians see the value of the technology as well. In a recent online survey of 94 veterinary clinicians who had used Vetrax on patients, 83% were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied'. 88% said they had found it most helpful in cases of allergy flare ups or other dermatological conditions. Respondents also found it valuable for observing overweight and diabetic dogs as well as to help dogs with poor mobility and other conditions. High levels of pet parent satisfaction were also reported by the clinicians. Perhaps most telling, 85% of these clinicians stated they would recommend the Vetrax technology to a colleague.
Hill's also sees great value in the technology beyond its commercial potential. Dave Baloga, Vice President of Science & Technology at Hill's said: "The Vetrax technology is a fantastic tool to evaluate the performance of our therapeutic and wellness foods and to support clinical studies. We are tremendously excited about the possibilities that this technology offers us to help develop and validate future products."
David Scharf, Vice President of Global Marketing and Innovation at Hill's, added: "At Hill's our mission is to enrich and lengthen the special relationship between people and their pets. While wearable technology for pets continues to advance, we believe that the value of the data Vetrax is already providing and the rapid pace of development will help us deliver on our mission in the years ahead."
