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Trump vs. Science
Plus: a new heart drug for cats, & IDEXX's Q1 earnings

Good morning, weekend warriors! Welcome to another edition fo Weekend Rounds đ
It is officially May, and a busy few days. Maybe youâre gearing up for âMay the Fourthâ lightsaber duels today, nursing a mint julep hangover from Saturdayâs Kentucky Derby, getting excited by Cinco de Mayo celebrations tomorrow, or just excited about warmer weather taking over. Whatever it is, we hope your coffeeâs strong and your scrubs are comfy.
But for now, lets trade chitchat about patio season for something a little more scientific. Hereâs your roundup of the quirkiest, coolest, and most game-changing news in veterinary medicine this weekâno stethoscope required.
Hereâs what weâre covering:
đ§ȘTrump 2.0 vs. Science
đ» A new heart drug for cats
đ° IDEXX crushes Q1
đ Quick hits

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Trump 2.0 vs Science
In the first four months of Trumpâs sequel Presidential term, thousands of government scientists have been pink-slipped, clinical trials have idled, and over 1,000 grants targeting everything from climate change to cancer have been cancelled.
A new feature from Nature this week highlights the impact the first 100 days of the Trump administration has had on science. The administrationâs 2026 budget pitch threatens to lop off nearly half of NASAâs science funds and slice 40% off NIHâs budget. Immigration clampdowns have seen international researchers detained and are nudging top talent to send their rĂ©sumĂ©s abroad, while a Nature poll shows 94% of readers sweating over the future of US research and an SOS letter from 1,900 National Academy members warns the enterprise is âdecimatedâ.
Bubbling beneath it all is Project 2025âs blueprint to dismantle the administrative stateâcall it the ultimate lab makeover or, for skeptics, a roadkill safari on the path to privatizing public-good agencies. If Congress step in soon, the US STEM scene could be irreparably set back, meaning more budget cuts for the veterinary sector, fewer product innovations, and a thinner pipeline of young people interested in our field. Itâs feels like if Science Vs. did a Black Mirror crossover episode, and we donât like it.
If youâre interested in how the US became a science superpower in the first place, read this Nature piece from a couple of weeks ago.
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A new heart drug for cats
Felycin-CA1 is the first and only FDA-conditionally approved sirolimus delayed-release tablet for cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, offering vets a proactive tool to slowâor even reverseâventricular wall thickening. Administered once weekly at 0.3 mg/kg (available in 0.4, 1.2, or 2.4 mg strengths), it targets the mTOR pathway without inducing full immunosuppression at these feline doses. Before starting therapy, screen for pre-existing liver disease or diabetes mellitus and confirm HCM via echocardiography; Felycin-CA1 is prescription-only and should not be used in patients with those comorbidities. While pivotal trials wrap up ahead of a full approval expected later in 2025, early data suggest minimal adverse effects beyond the underlying cardiac conditionâand more sunbeam naps and fewer vet visits for your whiskered sidekicks.
Read more:
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IDEXX crushes Q1
IDEXX Laboratories $IDXX ( âČ 0.11% ) kicked off 2025 with nearly $1 billion in Q1 revenueâ$998 million to be exactâmarking a 4% increase driven largely by strong demand for consumables and new instrument placements in clinics like yours. Within the Companion Animal Group, VetLab consumables sales jumped double digits, reference lab volumes held steady, and software plus imaging systems revenue climbed 9 percent, reflecting wider adoption of cloud-based tools in practices. Profitability stayed healthy too, with gross margin expanding to 62.4 percent and diluted EPS rising to $2.96 (up 5%). Looking ahead, IDEXX nudged its full-year revenue outlook up by $40 millionânow targeting $4.095â$4.210 billionâand lifted its EPS guidance, underscoring confidence in ongoing lab growth and new product rollouts like the Cancer Dx panel launched this quarter.
Read the whole earnings release here:
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Quick Hits
Here are some of the other stories that caught our eye and we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom:
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