From Big Pharma
to Pet Wellness
Shan Kanthar spent 30 years making medicines people trust with their lives - at AstraZeneca, Parnell, Virbac, and Auscann. When he looked at the pet supplement industry, he found it unacceptable. So he built something better.
Built by someone who was
angry about the industry
After 14 years formulating sterile injectables and asthma inhalers at AstraZeneca's North Ryde facility, Shan Kanthar looked at the Australian pet supplement industry and found it unacceptable.
Not marginally below standard. Unacceptable. Ingredients he would never have been permitted to use in human medicine were standard in pet supplements. Supply chains that would fail a pharmaceutical audit were commonplace. Batch testing — a non-negotiable in every pharma facility he'd worked in — was largely absent.
I have spent my entire career making medicines that people trust with their lives. I held pet nutrition to the same standard. The industry wasn't doing that. So I built a company that does.
- Shan Kanthar, Founder & Chief Scientist, BDS Animal HealthThe result is BDS Animal Health — a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Clandulla, NSW built to pharmaceutical standards. Every product formulated in-house. Every batch independently tested. Every ingredient traceable to source.
The education
behind the formulas
Three postgraduate qualifications across medicinal chemistry, drug development, and pharmacy — nearly two decades of academic training that underpins every BDS formulation decision.
30 years of expertise
behind every formula
Each career chapter shaped a specific BDS product. This isn't a generic supplement company — it's a pharmaceutical career applied to pet health.
Tap any role to expand
Formulation and process validation of sterile injectables and nebulised corticosteroid treatments at AstraZeneca's Australian facility. Fourteen years operating to GMP — the highest international pharmaceutical standard. Every batch tested. Every ingredient traced. That discipline became the non-negotiable foundation of BDS Animal Health.
Sterile hormone manufacturing for veterinary use. Led development of injectable anti-arthritic formulations for dogs — Glyde and Zydax — which became the veterinary industry standard. This is where Shan's pharmaceutical expertise first directly intersected with animal health.
Advanced drug delivery systems including long-acting transdermal implant technology for veterinary use. Virbac is the global benchmark in animal pharmaceuticals — this role deepened Shan's mastery of bioavailability engineering and precision drug delivery, disciplines that directly inform how BDS formulates for maximum absorption.
Solved a core pharmaceutical challenge: delivering oil-based therapeutic compounds in stable, highly bioavailable solid form. Developed Australia's first solid powdered cannabinoid capsule using self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) — nano-formulation technology that converts oils into dry powder the body absorbs far more efficiently.
BDS Animal Health operates a state-of-the-art facility in Clandulla, NSW built to pharmaceutical standards. Every product formulated in-house by Shan. Pharmaceutical-grade ingredients — USP-NF standard. All batches independently tested by TGA-approved external laboratories before shipping. Certificate of Analysis available on request.
At AstraZeneca, we didn't batch-test some products — we tested every batch. We didn't trace some ingredients — we traced every ingredient. That rigor saved lives in human medicine. Our pets deserve the same precision. That's why I built BDS with full pharmaceutical manufacturing standards, not 'pet supplement' shortcuts.
Why pharmaceutical standards matter for pet supplements
The Australian pet supplement market is largely unregulated. Ingredient quality varies enormously between brands. Independent batch testing is rare. Supply chains are frequently opaque. Products are built by marketing teams, not scientists.
In human pharmaceuticals, none of this would be acceptable. Regulatory bodies enforce ingredient grades, manufacturing conditions, batch testing, and full traceability. That's why medicines work.
Shan built BDS to apply the same actual standard — verified by third-party laboratories, manufactured in a certified facility, formulated by a qualified scientist with 30 years of experience. Not the same marketing language. The same actual standard.
Pharmaceutical quality —
verified, not just claimed
Unlike brands that use "pharmaceutical-grade" as a marketing phrase, BDS can verify every claim with third-party evidence and a facility you can visit.
| Standard | AstraZeneca (Human) | BDS Animal Health | Typical Pet Brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredient Grade | ✓ USP-NF Pharmaceutical | ✓ USP-NF Pharmaceutical | ✗ Feed-grade or food-grade |
| Batch Testing | ✓ 100% with Certificate of Analysis | ✓ 100% — COA available on request | ✗ Spot-checking or untested |
| Sterile Processing | ✓ Full aseptic protocols | ✓ Full aseptic protocols | ✗ Rarely applied |
| Ingredient Traceability | ✓ Full chain of custody | ✓ Full chain of custody | ✗ Opaque supply chains |
| Expert Oversight | ✓ PhD/PharmD scientists | ✓ 30+ year pharmaceutical scientist | ✗ Marketing teams or contractors |
