What is Petlife?
According to American Veterinary Association, 81 million US families have owned at least one pet and this figure will increase to 100 million by 2025. The report by China Pet Industry stated that in 2017 59 million families have had at least 1 pet and this figure rose by 17% compared to 2016.
According to Business Research Company, international veterinary market, which includes medical and rehabilitation services for animals, was estimated at $27 billion in 2017 with the total annual growth rate of 8.1%.The European market of private veterinary practice is estimated at €11 billion and the market of animal medicines is estimated at $18.1 billion(2017).
According to United States Department of Agriculture, the shortage of veterinarians in densely populated cities is 60% and up to 40% in Europe.While in Europe 243 000 eterinarians treat 157 million pets and 342 million heads of livestock. From 2006 to 2016 the cost pets and livestock expenses has increased by 73%. But even given the sharp shortage and rising cost of veterinary care, according to European Veterinary Association, 17% of veterinarians are in part-time work and 23% cannot find a job for more than a year. This is due to the place of residence and population.
Shortage of veterinary care on the one hand and growing demand for food on the other hand cause a sharp increase in zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, bird salmonellosis, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis campylobacteriosis and SARS virus. Pets or farm animals can be the source of zoonotic infections. Over 5 years 50 million people catch zoonotic diseases spread by dogs, cattle and chickens; 78 000 people die. Infections can take place in different forms. For example, outbreak of haemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola virus in 2014 resulted in more than 14 000 deaths.
Veterinary care providers are looking for a way to cover the growing demand for veterinary care. IT technologies is one of the solutions. According to Grand View Research the global market of veterinary software reached $322.8 million in 2016 and by 2025 it is projected at $699.0 million. If this forecast is correct, the average annual growth rate of IT solutions in veterinary medicine will be 8,9% per year.
Veterinary software industry is dominated by IDEXX Laboratories, Patterson Companies and Henry Schein, Hippo Manager Software, VetZ Limited, Esaote SpA, ClienTrax, Onward Systems and VIA information systems. These companies have completely occupied the sector of clinic management technologies and radiological information systems.
Blockchain, telemedicine and artificial intelligence are transforming the market and creating new players. The American veterinary telemedicinestartup Fuzzy Pet Health raised $4.5 million from Eniac Ventures, Presenter Ventures, Crosscut Ventures, SV Angel Accelerator Ventures and FJ Labs. The Swedish team Firstvet raised €5.1 million from Creandum, and the Canadian video consultation service together with a veterinarian Healthy Pets raised $500,000 from Arlene Dickinson’s District Ventures Capital. Blockchain -startup Medicalchain attracted $20M for the development of electronic medical record.