Thymox seals $4.6m funding round and looks to develop its global commercial frontiers

By Mary Ellen Shoup

- Last updated on GMT

Thymox has pivoted from technology development to full-scale commercial expansion on three continents. Pic: ©iStock/Jevtic
Thymox has pivoted from technology development to full-scale commercial expansion on three continents. Pic: ©iStock/Jevtic

Related tags Milk Cattle China

Thymox has closed a $4.6m Series B financing round led by Cycle Capitol Management and Desjardins Innovatech and will use the funds to accelerate the company’s international expansion.

The financing round also attracted new investors including Germain Benoit from Gercanoit.

Expanding commercial frontiers

Thymox Foothbath​, a botanically-derived, non-toxic disinfectant for dairy cattle, is available in the US, Canada, and China, with a plans to launch in UK and Europe in the near future. In China, sales are continuing to grow due to the large scale of its dairy farms, according to Thymox CEO Frank Palantoni.

“In China, there are huge industrial scale farms of 30,000 cows, which are run by the world's largest dairy companies like Fonterra,”​ Palantoni told DairyReporter.

“Our distributor UniteRumen is actively promoting the benefits of the products and educating farm workers on correct foot bathing techniques to minimize outbreaks of digital dermatitis (a disease that affects dairy cows and can lead to lameness).”

However, the needs of each market Thymox serves vary greatly, Palantoni added.

“In Canada, there are thousands of farms but generally small, less than 100 cows, and they are scattered across the country, making hands on training more difficult,”​ he said.

“In the US, there is a very mixed mode of distribution as well as farm size, with some of the larger farms using automated footbath systems, especially in the west, while there are many small family run farms in the northeast, which have been in the same family for generations.”

Dairy farms of all sizes embrace Thymox

Traditional techniques used to control digital dermatitis have involved using heavy metal disinfectants (mostly copper sulfate) which require the use of highly acidic foot baths and carcinogenic chemicals like formaldehyde, according to Palantoni.

Thymox Footbath is a safer and gentler solution to treating and preventing skin infections like digital dermatitis, and the company has seen farms of all sizes embrace the botanical disinfectant.

“Farms across the board have embraced Thymox. It seems, not surprisingly, that the more progressive farms are the fastest adapters,”​ he said. “They know they can do better.”

More progressive dairy farms are usually concerned about the effect copper sulfate can have on their soil and crop production, as well as the hazardous effects of formaldehyde on its workers, according to Palantoni.

“Like in all industries some farms are quick to adapt, others will wait until it is a requirement to change.”

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