For a look inside the offerings, operations, and objectives of diagnostic laboratories, AVMA News spoke with representatives of state laboratories as well as commercial laboratories. This is the final article in our four-part series.
Antech and Idexx tout laboratory services, diagnostic innovations
The biggest rivals among commercial veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the U.S., Antech Diagnostics and Idexx Laboratories, both started in the 1980s and have come to dominate the industry, focusing mostly on tests for cats and dogs.
Idexx incorporated as AgriTech Systems in 1983 and changed its name to Idexx in 1988. The name is based on IDX, the abbreviation for immunodiagnostics. Antech started out as the reference laboratory division of Veterinary Centers of America in 1988, with VCA adopting the name of Antech for the division in 1996. VCA was acquired by Mars PetCare in 2017.
Dr. Cathy Meeks, Antech vice president of medical operations, said the company believes in a laboratory-first approach to diagnostics, as opposed to favoring point-of-care diagnostics.
About 50% to 60% of fecal tests for parasites in cats and dogs are done at clinics, according to Antech. The company found that 71% of veterinary team members said sending fecal tests into a reference laboratory reduced stress, while 96% said sending in fecal tests allowed them to provide better care. They weren’t sitting at a microscope, Dr. Meeks explained, but had their hands on patients. Veterinary teams were able to see two more pets a day.
In March, Antech released a PCR-based fecal test for gastrointestinal parasites in cats and dogs, KeyScreen GI Parasite PCR. The molecular diagnostic test detects 20 parasites, including checking for the genetic marker for drug resistance in hookworms and determining the zoonotic potential of Giardia.
Tammi Lesser, Antech senior vice president for strategic marketing and commercial support, said: “Animals can’t talk. Diagnostics really are the voice of the pet. So we want veterinarians to have access to and to be able to offer wellness screening annually because if we can trend over time, we can find disease.”
Dr. Meeks added that Antech is committed to predictive diagnostics, which are currently more common in human medicine. In 2019, the company released RenalTech, which can predict chronic kidney disease in cats up to two years before signs show up on bloodwork.
The veterinary industry has changed with the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Meeks continued, with many practices having difficulty keeping up with demand. She said, “Efficiency and quality and innovation are the three focuses of our reference lab right now at Antech.”
Penny Guyton, Idexx vice president of global product management and customer experience, said the feedback that Idexx gets from customers is that they consider the reference laboratory to be an extension of what they do in their practice. She said, “They’re struggling to keep up with the volume of patients that are coming in, so having something like an extension of your practice has never been more valuable.”
In the arena of wellness testing for cats and dogs, Idexx has developed Idexx Preventive Care profiles. One in four blood and fecal profiles in dogs ages 2 through 10 indicate a need for follow-up. Guyton said those early insights are important to provide longer-term health.
Starting this September, Idexx is adding fibroblast growth factor-23 as a new biomarker to its diagnostics for management of chronic kidney disease in cats. FGF-23 allows for early detection of phosphorous overload and metabolic bone disease in cats in the earlier stages of chronic kidney disease.
Idexx also is known for its very large portfolio of point-of-care diagnostics. Tina Hunt, PhD, an Idexx executive vice president who leads point-of-care diagnostics, said the company’s analyzers allow veterinarians to manage cases in real time. While the client is still in the practice, a veterinarian can determine the health status of the patient and make a treatment plan.
Idexx tests in many categories can be run either in the clinic or at the reference laboratory—or both—providing choices for veterinarians, Hunt said. The company offers VetConnect Plus software to allow veterinarians to view complete results for patients.
“Our goal is to really bring in more and more diagnostics into the pet health care space because there is a lot more that can be done there,” Hunt said.