An initiative started eight years ago as an equine-related Central Kentucky business venture between veterinarian brothers is now building a growing national clientele among those looking to keep their horses and dogs limber, as well as themselves.
The son of an animal doctor from Maysville, Mo., local veterinarian Dr. Scott Pierce was initially drawn to Kentucky in 1984 by his desire to work with horses and a job offer from fellow vet Dr. Bill Rood. By 1989, Pierce had become a partner in the then-small equine veterinary practice of Rood and Riddle.
Pierce's brother, Stuart, also a veterinarian specializing primarily in cattle, became a Bluegrass transplant as well, and in 2000, the two began exploring opportunities for their own business collaboration.
"At that stage in my career, it was kind of what I needed to get the neurons firing again," Pierce said. "By that time, I'd been practicing 17 years, so I was ready for a new challenge."
They started the venture, Kinetic Technologies, by investigating a commonly used injectable and intravenous supplement for improving joints in horses, known as hyaluronic acid, or HA. After studying the chemistry of it, Scott Pierce had a hunch it might work as an oral supplement as well, which would eliminate the added expense and potential risks of injections. He developed an experimental paste, combining it with two other common oral joint supplements, and distributed it to a few knowledgeable locals in the horse industry.
"Two weeks after they started using it, I started getting calls, saying, 'Doc, what is this stuff?" Scott Pierce said. "They were very inquisitive about the effectiveness."
It was enough to convince him that Kinetic might be on to something. Over the next few years, hyaluronic acid became his passion, taking him around the globe to share findings with fellow HA experts and researchers. He soon obtained a patent on the oral use of Conquer HA, an HA paste for arthritis and joint pain in mammals, and set out to develop some more scientific proof of their effectiveness.
Subsequent studies continued to show promise. Before long, owners and trainers who had been using the product on their horses began requesting a version for their household pets, and Kinetic responded by developing an HA supplement for dogs. From there, Pierce said, a capsule supplement for people became the natural next step, along with finding a spokesperson to endorse it.
The company found that spokesperson in well-known golf celebrity Fuzzy Zoeller. Pierce was introduced to the golfer for the first time at a UK-Indiana game, and after watching him crack open a bottle of ibuprofen to deal with some nagging pain before the event, he decided Zoeller would be a strong candidate. Within six months of starting the supplement, Zoeller won his first major tournament in 16 years.
Since then, with the help of additional investors, a new company, HA Concepts, was launched to focus on the human version of its HA product line.
Today, under the holding company Vetix, both Kinetic Technologies and HA Concepts are moving forward on all fronts, Scott Pierce said, and expanding into the pet retail market with distribution at major outlets including Petco, Tractor Supply, and soon Petsmart. For the human segment, sales are made direct to the consumer through the company's Web site, www.conquerha.com. and HA Concepts is concentrating primarily on coast-to-coast radio infomercials in its marketing strategy. In recent months, the company has also developed a relationship with noted Louisville surgeon and co-founder of Kleinert, Kutz and Associates Hand Center, Dr. Joseph E. Kutz, M.D., who had previously been recommending the product to patients as well as taking it himself, and he has since signed on as HA Concepts' medical advisor. To date, the company estimates that more than 300,000 clients have used its Conquer HA product.
"We are trying to put together a protocol for some human research now with Dr. Kutz," Pierce said.
With joint pain becoming a common complaint among an aging baby boomer generation, the companies are concentrating on joint therapy for the moment, Pierce said. But with a wide array of concerns today such as diabetes and obesity that affect both geriatric people and animals in similar ways, Pierce said they will be looking for more opportunities to expand beyond joint pain and address more overall health and wellness.
"We're still looking for those natural remedies," Pierce said. "That's where it needs to head, with all the side effects that occur with drugs these days Ö and all the controversy with drug use in horses, as veterinarians and researchers, and as owners, we just need to look at these natural alternatives that are drug-free."
In addition to serving as chairman of the board for Vetix while Stuart Pierce serves as vice-chair, Scott Pierce still practices veterinary medicine, but he now concentrates more on consulting work, evaluating yearlings and attending public and private sales. The work is primarily by appointment, and even while traveling, he finds he can stay connected with his businesses through conference calling and other technologies. He and his wife, Deborah, also own Omega Farm, a horse operation near Paris, where they have been getting involved in horse breeding and racing.
And Pierce now has a staff of 17 to help keep the company running smoothly, including a handful of relatives who have relocated to Lexington and made the enterprise a true family affair. In addition to the Pierce brothers, their mother Picki, father John, and sister Barbara, have relocated to Kentucky and are actively involved in the business' day-to-day operations. Scott Pierce's daughter, Stephanie, who lives in Kansas City, Mo., is also following in the family footsteps of veterinary medicine, having recently completed her residency.
While Scott Pierce has had to gain most of his corporate acumen in a trial-by-fire fashion as an entrepreneur, he said the experience of moving into the corporate world and adjusting to its more structured and methodical pace has given him a growing appreciation for the need to surround oneself with talented people, both related to him and not.
"You learn the power and the importance of teamwork and aligning yourself with successful people who are positive, upbeat, energetic and have a strong work ethic," Pierce said. "That in itself can overcome a lot of lack of business knowledge."