Veterinary surgeons have named their top new veterinary products of 2012 in a survey carried out by CM Research.

As part of the research, 343 vets working in UK practice were asked what they considered to be the best new product of 2012. Their answers were unprompted, and they were only allowed to mention one product or service. For this reason, some vets voted for products that were launched earlier than 2012. The full results were as follows:

Hill's y/d
An iodine restrictive hyperthyroid management food launched by Hill's Pet Nutrition in May 2012 won with an overwhelming 31% of the votes. www.hillspet.co.uk

Cardalis (CEVA Animal Health)
Launched towards the end of 2012, CEVA's combined ACE inhibitor / spirolactone for heart failure in dogs scored a creditable 9.6% of mentions. www.ceva.co.uk

Seresto (Bayer Animal Health)
Bayer's 8-month flea and tick collar came third with 6% of the votes. www.seresto.com.

Caninsulin Vetpen from MSD
Launched in July 2012, this new insulin delivery pen for Caninsulin is designed to improving dosing accuracy, consistency and ease of use. The user-friendly pen design is said to improve initial pet owner acceptance and on-going compliance. 

Atopica Cat (Novartis Animal Health)
Novartis launched Atopica Cat, an oral version of its treatment for chronic allergic dermatitis, at the start of 2012. www.itchfreepet.co.uk

Comfortis (Elanco)
Launched in 2011, Comfortis is a novel oral flea adulticide for dogs which kills adult fleas rapidly for a month. www.comfortis.com

Nobivac Myxo RHD (MSD)
The first vaccine to combine 12 months protection against both myxomatosis and rabbit haemorrhagic disease within a single inoculation. It is a non-adjuvanted vaccine which, according to MSD, delivers greater simplicity of protocol and enhanced disease protection.

Cimalgex (Vétoquinol)
Launched towards the end of 2011, Vetoquinol's 2nd generation Cox-2 inhibitor is said by the company to be very well tolerated, have an excellent efficacy profile and be very easy to use, meaning that Cimalgex allows veterinary patients to benefit from pain relief in situations where clinicians would have been worried about the risks versus the benefits of prescribing a NSAID for pain management.

Activyl (MSD)
MSD's novel flea spot-on is the first to work by bioactivation, only becoming an insecticide after being ingested by the flea, thus minimising owner's exposure to insecticides. Said to be effective against the other stages of the flea life cycle, too. www.activyl.co.uk

RevitaCAM (Abbott)
RevitaCAM is the first and only veterinary NSAID (meloxicam) with oromucousal delivery. www.revitacam.co.uk.

Metacam for cats (Boehringer Ingelheim)
Boehringer extended its Metacam 0.5 mg/ml Oral Suspension for Cats range with the launch of a 30ml bottle size in July. www.metacam.co.uk.

Zuprevo (MSD)
MSD's antibiotic to combat bovine respiratory disease (BRD) was launched in the third quarter of 2011. www.zuprevo.com

V-Gel (Docsinnovent)
V-gel was the first ever species-specific supraglottic airway device (pictured top right), currently available for cats and rabbits. Billed as the latest ground breaking technology for a safer anaesthesia, easier breathing and avoiding damage to the throat and trachea; a safer alternative to ET tubes. www.docsinnovent.com

Onsior (Novartis Animal Health)
The tissue-selective oral and injectable Cox-2 inhibiting NSAID from Novartis was actually launched back in 2009.

Certifect (Merial)
Merial's flea and tick spot-on for dogs was launched by Ray Mears in the UK in February 2012. www.certifect.co.uk

Calmex (VetPlus)
Somewhat controversial when it made its first appearance in 2011, Calmex is a feed to help dogs and cats that may experience behavioural problems as a result of their environment or situations that may cause anxiety or fear. More info.

Comfortan (Dechra)
The first licensed methadone for dogs was launched by Eurovet towards the end of 2011, before it was acquired by Dechra in May 2012. www.dechra.co.uk

Hill's Vet Essentials
Hill's vet-exclusive petfood range is designed to meet essential dietary needs at every life stage. More info.

Trocoxil (Pfizer)
Trocoxil, Pfizer's NSAID for canine osteoarthritis was remarkable for its once monthly dosage regime, when launched back in 2009.

Veraflox
Bayer launched its next generation fluoroquinolone antimicrobial for bacterial infections in cats and dogs at the end of 2011.

Yumove
Yumove is a joint support supplement from Lintbells, containing glucosamine and chondroitin. More information.

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