Dog owner and veterinarian chatting in the reception area of a veterinary clinic

Biomarkers

Genetics

A biobank for the future of pet health care

At the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, our ambition is to advance science so pets can live healthier, not just longer lives. Over the past years, we’ve been helping veterinary teams move from simply detecting to predicting disease onset - RenalTech is one of the scientific breakthroughs in this space. 

But this is only the beginning: we want to better understand how many other diseases develop over time, so we can build better ways to intervene early. This is why scientists and veterinarians across Mars Petcare have launched a unique study that has the potential to change pet care for future generations of cats and dogs. 

The MARS PETCARE BIOBANK™ aims to be the most comprehensive study of its kind. Over the next 10 years, we will analyse biological samples and combine them with pet health, genetic and behaviour data from across our Petcare businesses to:

  • Learn how diseases develop and find ways to intervene earlier to reduce the risk and manage disease 
  • Spot an understand the implications of early changes to health 
  • Identify the risk status of each pet across a greater range of diseases and do so more accurately
  • Tailor preventive care to each pet, based on their risk profile 
  • Track pets’ healthy growth, development and aging

 

By enrolling 20 000 healthy pets (10 000 dogs and 10 000 cats), we will have the opportunity to answer key questions about pets’ health - something that is not possible without such a large, long-term study. This amount of data can help us understand and identify more of the signs that mark the transition from health to disease. 

An infographic explaining the Mars Petcare Biobank's goal

The study welcomes healthy cats and dogs of all breed makeups, which our scientists will be following in their real-life environment throughout a 10-year period. Veterinarians and scientists will monitor and analyse early changes in pets’ health, through regular, free-of-charge veterinary exams, changes in their annual blood samples and in their activity levels. 

As the community of enrolled pets increases over time, we hope to be able to discover patterns behind a wide range of conditions, from more common ones such as obesity and osteoarthritis to rarer ones such as pancreatitis or cardiovascular disorders. 

Find out more about how this study can change the future of pet care at marspetcarebiobank.com.

 

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