Vital Signs — Friday, October 23, 2026

23 Oct 2026 — 3 min read

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

(Less time agonizing over the perfect protocol — decide, act, adjust.)

Editor's Pick

Familiar Therapeutics Launches with $5 Million Seed to Close the Gap Between Human and Veterinary Medicine — New biotech licensing proven human drugs into veterinary development; its lead program, FAM-010 for canine hemangiosarcoma (no FDA-approved treatment today, median survival under two months with surgery alone), opens a pilot study at the University of Illinois veterinary hospital this fall; why it matters: the company aims to run vet drug development much faster than the typical 7–10 years by starting from years of existing human research — this is the model that could finally fill the companion-animal pipeline.

Fewer than 10 — new drugs the FDA approves each year for companion animals, versus more than 50 for people; takeaway: for serious disease you still lean on off-label human medicines without species dosing data — which is exactly the gap Familiar Therapeutics wants to close.

New sheep model aids development of targeted cancer therapy — University of Edinburgh researchers showed ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (a naturally occurring sheep lung tumor sharing molecular features with human lung adenocarcinoma) supports long-term treatment studies, with one sheep receiving two intratumoral cisplatin doses alongside repeat biopsies, bloodwork, and CT imaging over 28 days.
Odacova Health Unveils Nine-Year Canine Longevity Study at ALOS 2026, Charting a New Path to Extend Pet Healthspan — Odacova disclosed nine years of canine data on MHCR-1, a botanical bioactive meant to mimic calorie restriction's biology without the calorie cut, developed with the former NIH scientists who originated the calorie-restriction-mimetic field.

From veterinary AI to pet wellness: the latest M&A deals — September and early October's pet-industry deal roundup is headlined by IDEXX acquiring CoVet, the AI ambient-listening scribe it plans to fold into its software ecosystem (while keeping non-IDEXX integrations) — consolidation money is following workflow AI, which means your scribe vendor's roadmap now depends on a diagnostics company's priorities.

New Penn Foster Research Suggests Better Utilization of Veterinary Technicians Could Expand Access to Care — A Penn Foster/Harris Poll survey of 206 credentialed techs and 509 pet owners found 55% of techs say their clinical skills are underutilized and 76% say staffing structures limit appointments, while 36% of pet owners delayed or skipped care and 65% would book directly with a credentialed tech — the access gap may be a utilization gap, and the biggest barriers techs name are clinic culture, protocols, and veterinarian trust.
Meet AAHA's 2026 Veterinary Technician of the Year winner and finalists — Announced for National Veterinary Technician Week (Oct 18–24): winner Daniela Alvarez, RVT, of Modern Animal in Los Angeles, praised by colleagues as a mentor who builds career paths for every team member, with finalists Andrea Baker (CVT), Briana Balogh (RVT), and Sara Wiersma (CVT/RVT) — Tech Week is a natural moment to audit how your own recognition language lands on your techs.

New York City votes to end century-old horse-drawn carriage industry — The NYC Council passed Romanch's Law 40–7, banning horse-drawn carriages (including in Central Park) by June 1, 2028, mandating humane disposition of the horses rather than slaughter or transfer to other carriage businesses — the Transport Workers Union plans to sue once the mayor signs.

Rescue Dog Canyon, Who Survived Neglect, Wins 2026 ASPCA Dog of the Year for Texas Flood Work — Canyon, once a neglected rescue dog, was named the 2026 ASPCA Humane Award's Dog of the Year for 90+ days of search-and-rescue work alongside his handler with Texas A&M Task Force 1 after the 2025 Texas floods.
Found emaciated, alone and near death, senior dog Millie needs help — Millie, a senior found wandering Bradley Beach with a body condition score of 1 out of 9, is now in a medical foster home on antibiotics, antifungals, medicated baths, and a careful refeeding plan — her team says she's gentle through all of it.

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