Eli Lilly expands into the European companion animal health market, following the appointment of a director to head the new regional operation. European director Dr Stéphane Villemin says his plan for the next six months will be to take a European perspective on the company’s mission.

A recruitment dispute involving Norbrook and Pfizer Animal Health is settled in the High Court in London. Norbrook had secured a temporary injunction to prevent a former employee from moving to Pfizer, claiming that the employee had breached the company’s contract.

Merial wins a UK bluetongue tender. It will provide a further 13 million doses of vaccine against the BTV 8 strain to help vaccinate animals in England and Wales by autumn.

Fort Dodge Animal Health’s canine heartworm preventative Proheart 6 returns to the US market. The company voluntarily withdrew the product in September 2004 after dog owners reported adverse reactions.

Meanwhile Velcera’s canine pain management product VEL504 is close to being registered in the US. The US Food and Drug Administration said that it could be considered for approval once development work had finished.

Virbac is rolling out Peptech’s nonsurgical canine contraceptive in Europe and is considering launching the product in other markets such as Asia.

Dogs that have suffered a knee injury could be treated with a method used for ankle injuries in humans. A veterinarian in the US has developed a new technique for cranial cruciate ligament deficiency in dogs. It is claimed to be less invasive and have fewer complications than existing treatments.

The EU feed trade association FEFAC is renewing calls on Europe to reinstate animal protein as a pig and poultry feed ingredient. It is also asking Europe to relax its zero-tolerance policy on the importation of unapproved GM crop varieties, saying that the ban has cost the bloc $5bn to date.

Spain becomes the third largest animal health market in Europe, moving from fourth place. It grew by 7% in 2007 though this was slightly lower than in 2006, owing to general slower economic growth.

MEPs approve changes to remove companion animals from EU legislation on the veterinary use of beta-agonists and substances with a hormonal or thyrostatic action.

Compensating poultry producers for birds culled due to avian influenza is essential to stop the spread of the disease, says a veterinary expert in Asia. Meanwhile the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization is to fund animal health activities in poor countries.

And finally do not miss our in-depth interview with Zagro’s Poh Beng Swee.