SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SmartVet, a Kansas-based animal health company, is launching a $5 million financing campaign on AgFunder, the online investment platform for accredited investors investing in agriculture and agriculture technology companies. SmartVet has developed a disruptive new platform to deliver medication to livestock in the field, without needing to handle them.
SmartVet's lead product was successfully introduced in 2014 with over one million doses sold in its first year. The company has experienced triple digit growth in unit sales since then. "Cattle ranchers' response to our product has been overwhelming," said Grant Weyer, SmartVet's CEO. "Our company was established by producers and exists for producers. They're eager for us to bring additional products to market. This current fundraising will be used to accelerate our identified product pipeline."
For many livestock managers, the process of treating their cattle against parasites is one of the most arduous tasks they face each year. It requires the cattle to be herded, penned and then individually run through a chute to be treated, and so is usually done when the animals are brought in for other husbandry practices. As a result, most cattle receive treatment when it's convenient for the producer, not when it's optimal for the cattle.
SmartVet is changing that. The company's patented technology enables producers to treat cattle individually at the very time it's needed. The VetGun™ Delivery System uses CO2 to project encapsulated parasite control treatments onto cattle. The capsule bursts on impact and efficiently delivers its payload onto the surface of the skin. Once the dose is delivered it works in a similar way to the "spot on" products commonly used in cats and dogs. This system enables one person to treat hundreds of animals per day with minimal disruption to normal grazing activity.
With increasing consumer demand for protein, livestock medicine sales are forecast to reach ~US$17.5 billion by 2016. SmartVet's first core product offerings are targeted at the single largest market segment in animal health - the parasiticide market - which is already in excess of $4.4Bn (2013).
SmartVet's first product is an external insecticide for horn flies which has seen rapid market adoption with $2M sales in FY2014, more than tripling to $7M for FY2015. The next two products are proposed to be released in 2017. In parallel, the company is in the process of applying for FDA regulatory approval for its pharmaceutical product line.
To date, SmartVet has sold its product exclusively in the U.S. given the size of the market and regulatory focus needed. International expansion will follow once the first FDA pharmaceutical registration is achieved – this is expected in 2017.
"SmartVet is our first growth stage opportunity for investors," said Rob Leclerc, CoFounder and CEO at AgFunder. "The company has had impressive traction since its product launch in February 2014. The management team has a bench of industry veterans. That's been key to their successful product development and execution. The team has taken animal health companies public on two continents."
SmartVet is hosting an investor webinar on Thursday, November 12 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET for Accredited Investors interested in learning more about the opportunity. To join the webinar recording, visit: agfunder.com/webinar/smartvet. To learn more about the investment opportunity, visit agfunder.com/smartvet.
About AgFunder
AgFunder is the world's first equity-based investment platform created specifically to connect accredited investors with world-class agriculture and agtech investment opportunities. Every project featured on AgFunder is evaluated for its economic and technical merits by our expert team of agriculture and business experts, providing potential investors access to some of the most promising agriculture investment opportunities. For more information visit http://agfunder.com.
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AgFunder
Melissa Tilney, 415-689-4677
melissa(at)agfunder(dot)com