- Leader in pet care announces 10-year study to advance pet health
- Biobank will bring together clinical, genetic, and lifestyle data from 20,000 cats and dogs - with the ambition of helping improve disease diagnosis and prevention
Brussels, Belgium (June 8, 2022) – Mars Petcare today announced an unprecedented scientific initiative designed to improve understanding of pet health and disease, and help scientists and veterinarians innovate individualized healthcare for pets.
The MARS PETCARE BIOBANKTM(Opens a new window) aims to be the largest, most comprehensive real-world study of its kind, recruiting 20,000 pets (10,000 dogs and 10,000 cats) across the United States over 10 years. The biobank study will generate longitudinal physiological data from the samples collected and connected to other metadata to gain insights about changes in health status and understand the differences between pets that are healthy as they age and pets that develop diseases. By enrolling their pets in the study, pet owners will help enable new scientific discoveries to improve pet health for generations to come.
“We aim for this biobank to drive breakthroughs in scientific knowledge for the future of pet health,” said Poul Weihrauch, president, Mars Petcare. “Pets make our world better, so it makes sense that we are investing in state-of-the-art research in service of our purpose to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETSTM.”
The biobank is part of a long-standing commitment to investing in innovation, science, and technology. The company has a well-established history in driving transformative pet health innovation through the Waltham Petcare Science Institute(Opens a new window), which has focused on pet health for over 50 years; and through Mars Veterinary Health(Opens a new window), a network of 2,500 veterinary clinics and diagnostic labs across more than 20 countries.
Key goals: Early diagnosis and preventive health
“As a veterinary organization that touches the lives of more pets in more places than any other veterinary healthcare provider, we believe this biobank will help transform pet care for future generations of dogs and cats by engaging clients in their pets’ care in a new way and enabling veterinary teams to detect potential health issues before they happen,” said Jennifer Welser, DVM, DACVO, Chief Medical Officer, Mars Veterinary Health. “The insights gleaned from this study have the potential to improve preventive pet care and individualized interventions, enabling even more pets to stay healthy.”
Today, pets are generally diagnosed and treated when disease is already present. The MARS PETCARE BIOBANK data aims to help scientists identify associations of early disease detection.
Scaling scientific insights into pet health
With scientists currently being unable to closely follow the health status of very large numbers of pets throughout their lives in a standardized way, it is challenging to spot patterns and early changes that may precede disease. Looking ahead, as part of the biobank analysis, scientists will study biological samples, pet health trends, genetic and behavior data over the next 10 years to identify early signs of potential disease and uncover new ways to support healthy development and aging, disease prediction and prevention, individualized nutrition, and health monitoring.
What sets the MARS PETCARE BIOBANK apart from other pet biobanks is not only its scale – 20,000 dogs and cats – but also that it is open to all breed makeups and lifestyles. Existing pet biobanks often study certain species, breeds or diseases.
Dogs lead the way
The study is now recruiting healthy dogs (older than six months and younger than 10 years old) already visiting select VCA Animal Hospitals™(Opens a new window) and BANFIELD™ Pet Hospital(Opens a new window) locations. The study will begin recruiting cats later this year.
Veterinary teams at participating Banfield and VCA hospitals will see pets for annual health checks and collect samples, such as fecal and blood. Once collected, samples will be analyzed by technicians at Antech Diagnostics(Opens a new window) and stored for future analysis by scientists at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute(Opens a new window).
Pet owners who enroll their eligible pets will receive an e-gift card after the first clinic visit and free annual routine veterinary check-ups, have annual blood samples reported via their veterinary teams, and receive a WHISTLE™ Fit activity monitor for dogs and a WISDOM PANEL™ DNA test kit for cats and dogs.
Any personal data collected as part of the study will be managed in accordance with the Mars Privacy Statement(Opens a new window).
For more information about the MARS PETCARE BIOBANK and to apply to participate in this revolutionary study, visit marspetcarebiobank.com(Opens a new window).
About Mars Petcare
Mars Petcare is part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. Our almost 100,000 Associates across 130 countries are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 85 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world's pets – including brands PEDIGREE(Opens a new window)®, WHISKAS(Opens a new window)®, ROYAL CANIN(Opens a new window)®, SHEBA(Opens a new window)®, CESAR(Opens a new window)®, GREENIES(Opens a new window)™, IAMS(Opens a new window)™ and EUKANUBA(Opens a new window)™ as well as the WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute(Opens a new window) which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through an international network of more than 2,500 pet hospitals and diagnostic services including AniCura(Opens a new window), AntechAsia Veterinary Diagnostics(Opens a new window), BANFIELD(Opens a new window), BLUEPEARL(Opens a new window), Linnaeus(Opens a new window), Mount Pleasant(Opens a new window), VCA(Opens a new window), VES(Opens a new window), and VSH(Opens a new window). We're also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL(Opens a new window)™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE(Opens a new window)™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO(Opens a new window) accelerator and COMPANION FUND(Opens a new window)™ programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business(Opens a new window) and guided by our principles(Opens a new window), we are building a thriving and inclusive workforce reflective of the many pets and communities we serve, privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in. And we choose to fight for our Purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.
Media contacts for this press release
Carrie Deverell
[email protected]
