Virbac sales inch up in Q3; Blockbusters drive sales of vet meds up 7% in 2015; Schein creates new positions in animal health;

> France's Virbac announced that its third-quarter sales grew 1.8% on a constant-currency basis to €213.7 million ($235.5 million). Release

> Market researchers Packaged Facts released a report predicting that sales of pet medications will increase 7% year over year to $7 billion by the end of 2015, driven by new blockbusters such as Zoetis's ($ZTS) Apoquel to treat atopic dermatitis in dogs and Nexgard, the chewable flea-and-tick fighter from Sanofi's ($SNY) Merial. Release

> Henry Schein ($HSIC) has appointed Gilles Guillemette as vice president and general manager of its global animal health drugs and nutritional unit, and Robert DiMarzo as vice president of commercial development and product category management for its global animal health group--both newly created positions. Release

> The North American Veterinary Community has established the Veterinary Innovation Council, a new non-profit aimed at forming collaborations to tackle challenges in animal health. Release

> VetSource has partnered with AmerisourceBergen's ($ABC) MWI Animal Health to expand its home-delivery services for animal health products. Release (PDF)

> Strong North American sales helped drive total revenues for Dechra Pharmaceuticals, a U.K.-based maker of veterinary medicines, up 86% year over year on a constant-currency basis in the quarter ended September 30. Article

> The FDA has updated its consumer guidelines for treating Cushing's disease in dogs. Website

> Denmark's Chr. Hansen, which markets probiotics for the animal health industry, announced that its revenues grew 10% in fiscal 2015 to €859 million ($946.7 million). Release

> Portal Instruments of Cambridge, MA, announced it has closed a $25 million Series B financing, which it will use to develop its computerized needle-free drug delivery system for use in both animal and human health. Release

> Abaxis ($ABAX) has partnered with Vetter Software to market and resell Vetter's cloud-based veterinary practice management platform. Release

> U.K.-based Benchmark Animal Health has appointed Robin Wardle, a veteran of Merck ($MRK) Animal Health, as strategic development manager for aquaculture products. Release

> PetCure Oncology has selected Radialogica as its software provider for clinical collaboration and quality management. Release

> Purdue University has broken ground on an $8.8 million horse diagnostic and surgical center in Shelbyville, IN, funded partially by Centaur Gaming, which owns the nearby racetrack. Article