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Veterinary drug maker boosted by new capital

ANN S

— By . KIM

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Photo by Derek Davis: Jean Hoffman is president of Putney Inc., a pharmaceutical company in Portland. Photographed on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010.

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Staff Writer

PORTLAND — Jean Hoffman expects 2010 to be a big year for Putney Inc.

The pet pharmaceutical company will be adding employees and increasing its investment in research and development, thanks to a $6.7 million infusion of venture capital. Those developments set the stage for additional product launches in the future.

''It's an exciting time for us,'' said Hoffman, the company's founder and CEO. ''This year is focused on recruitment of key members of our management team and R&D -- our two most favorite things.''

Hoffman started the company in 2006 with the goal of developing generic medications for pets that would be available through veterinarians. A veteran of the pharmaceutical world, Hoffman saw an opportunity in the niche. While generic pharmaceuticals abound for humans, 94 percent of pet medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration do not have generic counterparts.

Putney introduced its first veterinary-approved generic last year. The product -- carprofen caplets -- is equivalent to Pfizer's Rimadyl, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug given to dogs for osteoarthritis and post-operative pain. Putney is also developing a generic chewable version of the medication.

Putney also has generic products approved for human use but intended for pets. It is common for veterinarians to treat pets with human-approved drugs, but not all drugs can be used in this way. Some don't cross species well and there are also issues with dosage and ''palatability'' -- making a medication tasty enough so the animal patient won't reject it.

The company isn't revealing the other products it has moving through the pipeline, but Hoffman is expecting them to have a big impact as they win FDA approval.

Putney doesn't disclose its revenues, but Hoffman said 2009 ended very strongly and that 2010 is expected to be ''solidly over $10 million.'' She anticipates revenues to reach $100 million in 2012 or 2013, depending on the timing of FDA approvals.

The animal health product market is a growing one that is shifting from agricultural animals to pets. The total worldwide market was estimated at $18.4 billion in 2007, up from $13.9 billion in 2003, according to a report by David Lummis, senior pet market analyst for Packaged Facts, a market research firm. The report expects the pet sector to account for 50 percent of sales by 2012, up from 40 percent in 2003.

The industry has been controlled for years by the animal health divisions of large pharmaceutical companies that have focused on agricultural animals, Lummis said during a telephone interview. The great success of Frontline, the flea and tick medication for pets, has helped shift their attention, he said.

''There's a huge market potential for generic drugs in the pet medication space,'' he said. ''It's a very untapped area of the market.''

Dr. Susan Chadima, a veterinarian at Androscoggin Animal Hospital in Topsham, said her patients' owners generally haven't asked for generics but do sometimes ask about cheaper alternatives. About 80 percent of the medications she uses in her practice are veterinary approved, primarily brand name.

''My preference would always be to use a veterinary-approved drug for an animal,'' she said.

Chadima recalled how one pet owner gave a dog ibuprofen, a drug in the same class of medication as carprofen but very toxic to dogs and cats. The owner brought in the dog as it was dying from a perforated ulcer because if its inability to metabolize the human medication.

Putney now employs about a dozen people in Portland. Hoffman expects that number to be around 20 by year's end.

The staff includes the regulatory affairs and R&D teams, veterinary affairs, customer service, sales, marketing, human resources and alliance management, which works to see that the manufacturing process and schedules go smoothly. Lab work and manufacturing are contracted out.

As she recruits, Hoffman takes some of her inspiration from a large photo on her office wall. It is of her son, Cooper Hoffman Van Vranken, racing a mountain bike at a ski area. To her, the photo represents a smart risk-taker -- someone, who in the case of Putney, would have the courage to take on the big pharmaceutical companies but knows not to cut corners with the regulatory process.

''Hopefully,'' Hoffman said, ''that's what we're breeding here.''

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim can be

contacted at 791-6383 or at:

akim@pressherald.com