AniV8 appoints new CEO

AniV8—a leading developer of clinical sensor technology to diagnose and monitor diseases in pets—has appointed Ellie Virtue, BSc, MiF, PhD, as the new CEO of the company. Virtue joins the AniV8 team with 15 years of scientific and commercial expertise within the animal health industry including the development of human and animal health pain therapeutics.

“Ellie’s commercial and business expertise, combined with a strong background in animal health and the develop­ment of novel osteoarthritic pain therapeutics, make her the ideal candidate to drive the development of AniV8’s unique monitoring technology,” says B Duncan X Lascelles, BSc, BVSc, PhD, FRCVS, CertVA, DSAS(ST), DECVS, DACVS, cofounder and chief scientific advisor member of the Board of AniV8 and professor at North Carolina State University, in a company release.

“We believe AniV8’s lead product has the potential to revolutionize the management of many companion animal diseases, facilitating earlier diagnosis and the optimization of treatment strategies,” he adds.

According to the release, Virtue wields a Master of Applied Finance (MAF) from Macquarie University and a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Prior to becoming CEO of AniV8, Virtue was a venture partner at Stonehaven Incubate—one of AniV8’s founding partners—where she identified and developed innovative human health technologies with potential for the animal health market.

Additionally, she contributed to therapeu­tic treatments for osteoarthritic pain in companion animals at Nexvet Biopharma. As the business went from a small start-up to a NASDAQ-listed global company, Virtue’s roles and capabilities advanced across R&D, operations, alliance management, and business development.

“AniV8’s clinical sensor technology is underpinned by ground-breaking data science and movement metrics and is aimed at easing the unnecessary suffering of pets through early diagnosis that will enable more appropriate treatment,” says Virtue in the release.

“Our immediate focus is on bringing AniV8’s first product, to diagnose and monitor osteoarthritis pain in dogs and cats, to the market as quickly as possible. It can take many years before dogs and cats show obvious signs of pain, and this wearable technology would enable pet owners and veterinarians to assess problems more rapidly and to identify if treatment options are effective. I look forward to working with the excellent team at AniV8 to unlock the full potential of this much-needed innovation,” she adds.

For more information about AniV8, go here.