Company Overview
Company
Overview
Centaur Pharmaceuticals began as a separate pharmaceutical
production arm of a custom veterinary pharmacy business founded in 1979. In 1991, Dr. Chas Povey, purchased Centaur
from American Cyanamid at the same time he sold his controlling
interest in Langford Laboratories. Dr. Povey had been co-founder
of Langford Laboratories and led its development into a major
Canadian animal health company with domestic and international
sales.
Veterinary Alternatives Inc. (VA) was founded in 1996 under
the direction of Dr. Rob Butler to market and distribute targeted
nutraceutical products to the veterinary market. Veterinary
Alternatives was purchased by Centaur Pharmaceuticals in 1999.
Currently both companies trade under the name Centaur VA Animal
Health.
Centaur VA Animal Health has a line of products focused
on the small animal and equine veterinary market with sales
primarily to Canadian veterinarians.
It All Started with a "Light
Lube"
It all started with Jake Slinger, who was a pharmacist who
had his shop at the corner of College and Gordon Streets in
Guelph, across from the Ontario Veterinary College. When Jake
“retired” from his pharmacy in the mid seventies,
he filled his days as the pharmacist at the OVC. Many of my
vintage (OVC ’82) remember Jake with his mane of white
hair, ever present smile, and boundless energy.
Jake had some special formulae and made them up for the staff
and students to use. Among these was the ever ubiquitous “Light
Lube”. When Jake retired again in the 80’s, he
continued to make his mixtures under the name of John E. Slinger
Ltd, that were provided to the veterinary community through
Langford Laboratories, a new animal health company that had
recently been formed in Guelph.
Langford Laboratories was founded by two OVC professors,
Dr. Charles (Chas) Povey and Dr. Mike Wilson. Chas was a student
of Mike’s at the School of Veterinary Sciences at the
University of Bristol, England. Chas was a virologist who
did a lot of pioneering work with the feline respiratory viruses
and canine parvovirus, and Mike was a well-respected professor,
and swine disease and management specialist. Together they
developed a line of vaccines and bacterins based on their
unique knowledge of antigen sites and adjuvants. As time went on other technologies
were brought into Langford, which led to many world class vaccines
being developed. Chas retired from Langford
in the early 90’s and Langford is now part of Wyeth
Animal Health.
Along the way, Chas bought John E. Slinger from Jake,
keeping this as a new project. In 1991, part of John E.
Slinger was separated as The Veterinary Pharmacy (newly named
Chiron Compounding Inc.) and the pharmaceutical component
was renamed Centaur Pharmaceuticals Inc. Other products for
food animal and equine health were developed.
Fast forward a few years. CentaurVA Animal Health (CVA)
was established in 1999 from the merger of Centaur Pharmaceuticals
and Veterinary Alternatives Inc., founded by Dr. Robert Butler,
a veterinarian practicing in Guelph, ON. The goal of CVA was
to address the emerging interest of the veterinary profession
and the pet owning public by expanding the options for health
maintenance and treatments, based on natural products. These products were to be understood and supported by clinical
and scientific evaluation and described using methods and
language that the veterinarian would have confidence in.
CentaurVA is recognized as the company to choose when
looking to round out a treatment plan with rational adjunct
treatments, or when a nutraceutical or integrative treatment
strategy is desired. It is the only company across Canada
that focuses on this. Our representatives are RVT’s
or science undergrads, and are quite able to communicate the
product attributes, benefits, and expectations directly to
the Veterinarians and their support staff. Technical and professional
support for the products is provided by myself in conjunction
with the research scientists and developers of our product
line.
Here is where the story comes full circle. Like Mike was to Chas,
Chas was a professor of mine. I worked for Langford Labs before
moving ahead on in the animal health industry and then into
the human biotechnology development business. Chas asked if
I’d like to return to the industry, and I came back
as President in 2006. It was like coming home again.
Thanks for visiting our site, and wanting to learn more about
our products. Call us any time!
Greg Hawkins, DVM
President
