The Scoop
Animal health company Zoetis has agreed to make its second data-focused acquisition this year as it looks to build out its animal diagnostics business using AI.
On Tuesday, it agreed to acquire Texas-based VitalRADS, which operates a network of specialists that review animal radiology images around the clock. It will help Zoetis build AI models that can eventually automate much of the technicians’ workflow, Abhay Nayak, who leads US commercial operations, told Semafor. VitalRADS’ database of more than 30 million images will be used as training data, he said.
As non-tech companies work to integrate AI into their businesses, they must decide whether to build the tech products themselves or buy companies that have already done it. Even if non-tech businesses have teams of engineers dedicated to building new products, they need huge amounts of proprietary data to differentiate their technology from that of their competitors.
“The image database would have taken us a while to build,” Nayak said. “And we also need a team of radiologists. That made it a very easy decision for us.”
Earlier this year, Zoetis agreed to acquire test-kit company Neogen’s animal genomics business for $160 million. As part of that deal, it purchased a huge database of genetic testing records from customers across 120 countries. At the time, chief commercial officer Jamie Brannan told Semafor that the data would round out the software it provides farmers for managing their herds.
Zoetis wouldn’t disclose how much it plans to pay for VitalRADS.
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Zoetis has been under pressure from investors as pet parents in the US taper their spending. Purchases of the latest name-brand products are down, and pet owners are making fewer visits to the vet. Zoetis’s share price tanked 30% after its most recent earnings announcement.
Radiology, meanwhile, has been one of the first big venues for AI in the human healthcare space, providing early evidence of improving workflows for radiologists without sacrificing accuracy. Creating a model for animal radiology, however, is more complex because of the many different species and less standardization across scans, Nayak said.