MediVet, headquartered in Nicholasville, is a two-year-old company that makes stem-cell kits for the treatment of animals. Late last month, MediVet announced its partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health to sell and distribute stem-cell kits to veterinarians around the world.
That means a bigger sales force pitching MediVet's products and that, in turn, means the company will hire more people and bring manufacturing to Jessamine County, said MediVet CEO Jeremy Delk. The company's products are now manufactured in Australia.
MediVet employs 12 full-time people in Nicholasville, and Delk anticipates that Jessamine County will gain five to seven sales jobs and 10 to 20 manufacturing jobs in the "next three to six months.
Butler Schein, headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, sells all kinds of equipment and supplies to veterinarians, and has nearly 400 sales representatives. That sales force means "more feet on the ground" to tout MediVet's products and services to veterinarians, Delk said.
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There are 170 million dogs and cats in the United States, and 25 percent of them will suffer from sort of degenerative disease like osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia, or damage to joint cartilage, ligaments and tendons.
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The company also is expanding stem-cell use to treat renal and liver failure in cats.
"About 30 percent of all cats will eventually die from that," Delk said.
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Delk made the announcement about the partnership with Butler Schein at a Feb. 24 conference for veterinarians in Las Vegas.
"We had 180 veterinarians to turn up at 6:30 in the morning in Las Vegas," Delk said, "so you know there's something of interest there."
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It is clear that revenue is going to flow from the lucrative veterinary industry, especially now that a major US distributor is involved.
MLA Price at posting:
14.0¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held