Boehringer, Zomedica expand point-of-care PPID testing

Zomedica and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA are teaming up to expand point-of-care testing for equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, bringing Zomedica’s TRUFORMA platform into Boehringer’s idPPID awareness and testing program. The March 18, 2026 announcement adds a commercial and clinical access layer to a category that has largely depended on outside-lab workflows, with participating veterinarians eligible for no-cost analyzer placement and reimbursed testing on TRUFORMA. (pharmiweb.com)

The move builds on Boehringer’s broader effort to position idPPID as a resource hub for veterinarians managing this progressive endocrine disease. On the company’s PPID resource page, Boehringer describes PPID as one of the most common endocrine disorders in horses and directs veterinarians to baseline ACTH and TRH stimulation testing guidance, along with management tools and access to its testing program. That groundwork matters because PPID diagnosis can be nuanced, especially in earlier-stage horses or in cases where seasonal interpretation and TRH stimulation testing come into play. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)

The operational change here is straightforward: TRUFORMA’s equine endogenous ACTH and insulin assays will now sit inside Boehringer’s awareness and testing program, rather than outside it. Zomedica says it will market the idPPID program through its TRUFORMA and PulseVet networks, while Boehringer will reimburse participating veterinarians for TRUFORMA-based testing and continue reimbursement through Cornell University laboratory testing. The agreement also includes no-cost placement of TRUFORMA analyzers and reimbursed cartridge kits in equine practices, a structure that could expand the installed base of the platform and create a path to follow-on assay use, including cortisol and progesterone testing. (pharmiweb.com)

That commercial design is important because point-of-care endocrine testing has had to clear two hurdles at once: clinical confidence and practice economics. On the clinical side, independent research highlighted by EquiManagement in May 2025 found good overall agreement between the TRUFORMA ACTH assay and a chemiluminescent immunoassay in horses with and without PPID. The same report noted that ACTH testing usually requires careful sample handling, rapid plasma separation, and chilled shipment to an outside lab, all of which can slow decisions in horses where laminitis risk raises the stakes. Investigators also reported a larger negative bias in PPID animals, an important caveat for veterinarians interpreting results. (equimanagement.com)

The companies are framing the collaboration around speed and access. Zomedica CEO Larry Heaton called the deal a milestone for TRUFORMA, while Dwana Neal, executive director of U.S. equine business at Boehringer Ingelheim, said the goal is to help veterinarians make faster, more confident decisions. Those comments come from the companies, so they should be read as positioning as much as evidence, but they align with the practical appeal of same-visit endocrine testing in equine practice. (pharmiweb.com)

Why it matters: For veterinarians, this is less about a new assay than a new delivery model. If Boehringer’s reimbursement lowers the financial barrier to in-clinic testing, more practices may be willing to add point-of-care endocrine screening for older horses and to monitor treatment response without depending entirely on reference-lab logistics. That could support earlier case finding in a population where Zomedica cites PPID prevalence of about 20% to 25% in horses over 15, while also giving practices more control over workflow and client communication. For pet parents, the likely benefit is faster answers and fewer delays between suspicion, diagnosis, and management planning. (equimanagement.com)

There are still open questions. The strongest independent validation cited publicly so far appears to be conference-presented comparative data rather than a full peer-reviewed assay paper, and the reported bias in PPID horses means test interpretation will still matter. More broadly, Boehringer’s own education materials continue to emphasize that baseline ACTH and TRH stimulation testing each have a role depending on the clinical picture and time of year, so point-of-care access won’t eliminate the need for thoughtful endocrine workups. (equimanagement.com)

What to watch: The next signals will be practice uptake, any expansion of published validation data for TRUFORMA’s equine assays, and whether this reimbursement-backed model changes how often equine veterinarians screen and monitor suspected PPID cases in the field. (pharmiweb.com)