Mastaplex and AgriHealth announce NZ distribution partnership for Mastatest

AgriHealth will distribute all Mastatest mastitis diagnostic products to New Zealand rural veterinarians and their dairy farmer clients effective 23 May 2018.

Mastatest provides an on-farm or vet clinic -based bovine mastitis test within 24 hours. This enables dairy farmers to select specific antibiotic treatments recommended by their veterinarian, once target bacteria are identified. Mastatest is the first technology globally available to determine both the type of bacteria causing the mastitis and the antibiotic sensitivities against that bacteria in raw milk, using advanced ‘cloud’ diagnostics.

Mastatest delivers four key advantages over traditional diagnostic mastitis testing:

·               Faster - reliable result provided digitally within 24 hours

·               Simple - Easy to use; set and forget, with no tricky test interpretation required

·               Comprehensive - Three answers in one Mastatest (bacterial infection confirmation, bacteria typing, and antibiotic sensitivity of each bacteria identified)

·               Accurate - Clinically proven mastitis diagnosis available on-farm

Mastatest test results are supplied electronically to veterinarians, so antibiotic recommendations can be tailored for dairy herds and cows.  Mastatest monitors antibiotic sensitivities in New Zealand, with data collected from individual cow and herd level, to enable the responsible use of antibiotics in local herds.

AgriHealth will distribute Mastatest products exclusively via veterinarians, to allow the greatest impact in the prudent use of antibiotics used in the New Zealand dairy industry.

Mastaplex is in negotiation with a European distributor and is seeking alliances for the US. 

Mastaplex Managing Director Dr Olaf Bork, says the company sees huge benefits in working closely with AgriHealth in New Zealand.

“AgriHealth has an excellent reputation for new product innovation, and rapid penetration of products in the New Zealand veterinary market. Partnering with AgriHeath’s technical and marketing expertise and local sales focus will support rapid Mastatest uptake in New Zealand. This will enable more NZ veterinarians and farmers to use Mastatest frequently, and manage mastitis more effectively, to reduce the financial burden of this disease for dairy farmers.”

AgriHealth CEO, Ed Catherwood, says Mastatest is a very exciting product for dealing with mastitis in New Zealand dairy herds.

“No other mastitis test compares in terms of simplicity and ease of use.  Our team were extremely impressed that within 24 hours Mastatest could identify bacteria and antibiotic sensitivity to lab standard, to allow vets to provide antibiotic treatment recommendations based on individual mastitis cases.  Use of Mastatest improves mastitis cure rates in a given herd, and enables more targeted use of antibiotics to combat the most prevalent disease in dairying.” 

For more details about Mastatest, please click here

About Mastaplex

Mastaplex is an early stage growth company in the area of veterinary diagnostics based in the Centre for Innovation, Dunedin.

Founded in 2013 Mastaplex’s innovation process started within the University of Otago before inventor and founder Dr Olaf Bork invested into the Mastatest technology. Mastaplex received the tech incubator award through WNT Ventures and Callaghan Innovation in 2015.  In 2017 Mastaplex received growth funding and support from the prestigious NZ Angel Investor Network, led by Enterprise Angels. www.mastaplex.com

About AgriHealth

AgriHealth is New Zealand’s fastest growing supplier of vet medicines to the livestock and poultry sector.  The company has a particular focus in dairy cattle products, which are distributed through rural veterinarians.  Locally owned and operated, AgriHealth NZ Limited employs a team of 12 experienced sales, marketing and technical professionals including three experienced veterinarians.  www.agrihealth.co.nz