Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical group of companies, together with its U.S. animal health business Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., has closed its deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business. The acquisition, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim's companion animal and cattle portfolios and strengthens the company's position as a leading vaccine supplier. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Products being acquired in Europe are still subject to approval by European anti-trust authorities.
"Boehringer Ingelheim and Fort Dodge share a strong commitment to innovation and this will continue to be the imperative basis of all our activities as we move forward," said Hubertus von Baumbach, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim responsible for Finance and Animal Health. "With the closing of this deal, our attention now turns to ensuring a seamless integration of the highly committed teams of people as well as the transition of the product portfolio. We aim to jointly execute a robust business strategy that ensures the continued growth of our animal health business in the U.S. and globally by continuously providing innovation to our customers."
As part of the deal, Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire the Duramune® line of vaccines for dogs, the Fel-O-Vax® line of vaccines for cats, and the Rabvac® line of rabies vaccines manufactured and sold in the U.S., Canada and Australia. In addition, a portfolio of pet and equine pharmaceutical products currently sold in the U.S. is also included in the deal. The company will also acquire cattle vaccines in the U.S. and Canada including the Triangle®, Pyramid®, and Presponse® vaccine lines. Pharmaceutical products being acquired include Cydectin® (moxidectin) for cattle and sheep as well as Polyflex® (ampicillin sodium). The dairy portfolio includes the key brands Today® and Tomorrow®. Several Canadian swine vaccines are included in the acquisition as are some cattle vaccines sold in Europe and South Africa.
"The products included in this acquisition complement our already strong product lines and help to broaden our innovation base across more species and boost our global pipeline," said Prof. Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim. "We look forward to applying our innovative culture to the products included in this acquisition as well as to the research and discovery of new products that will continue to bring value to our customers and our business."
About Boehringer IngelheimThe Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world0E8s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and approximately 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine. In 2008, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 11.6 billion euro (US $17 billion) while spending approximately one-fifth of net sales in its largest business segment, Prescription Medicines, on research and development.