One of the first food allergy tests for dogs is about to hit the market, thanks to a partnership set up by the Enterprise Europe Network.

Did you know that pets also suffer from allergies? Dogs, for example, can be allergic to beef, eggs, milk, rice and corn. To help prevent allergic reactions, Italian research group Nutrigene has developed low-cost saliva diagnostic kits for pet food intolerance. It was looking for a partner to bring the kits to market.

The Enterprise Europe Network helps firms find international partners through its 3,000 experts in 50 countries. One of them, Marco Gorini, based in the Network’s Venice branch, hosted by Veneto Innovazione, was on hand to help.

“They searched locally in Italy but didn’t find the right company,” said Gorini. “That’s when they decided to look internationally. I published their profile in the Network’s partnership database.”

Nutrigene received six expressions of interest from four countries. German company Diagnostische Systeme & Technologien (DST), a Network client in Rostock, fitted the bill. Jürgen Dührkop, a Network expert in Rostock’s Technologiezentrum Warnemünde, and Gorini put the companies in touch.

DST had experience with human rather than animal allergy kits, although the challenge was essentially the same. The goal, according to Marc Dangers, DST’s head of research and development, is a testing kit that will give fast results to reassure pet owners. ”If the Network had not existed we would never have got in contact,” Dangers said.

The allergy tests were first tested in the US and American firm Hemopet has launched the product under the brand name Nutriscan. Demand from Europe and elsewhere is reported to be strong.

“Finding the right industrial partner with specific competences is hard,” said Nutrigene. “Thanks to Veneto Innovazione and the Enterprise Europe Network we managed to get in contact with several potential partners and to choose the best one.”