INGELHEIM, GERMANY--(Business Wire) April 6, 2017 -- Three months after acquiring animal health leader Merial in a strategic transaction with Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim revealed its ambition to compete for industry leadership worldwide in animal health. Boehringer Ingelheim management discussed the importance of its animal health business and its long-term growth potential at its Annual Press Conference today.

Following a positive year for the animal health business in 2016 with net sales increasing by 8.5 percent in currency adjusted terms to 1.46 billion euros, Boehringer Ingelheim finalised the acquisition of Merial on 1 January 2017. With the combination of these two leading and highly complementary businesses, animal health has been identified as a strategic long-term development priority for the company.

“Acquiring Merial immediately positions us to be increasingly competitive in a high-growth sector that is in a consolidation phase. By combining two dynamic companies that share the same long-term strategic vision, we are delivering a larger and more innovative portfolio of products and services to prevent disease and improve the health and productivity of animals around the world. We actively want to help shape the animal health industry by combining our forces, one with the power of two” says Joachim Hasenmaier, Head of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Animal Health Business Unit and member of the Boehringer Ingelheim board of managing directors.

Between now and 2030, the latest forecasts (1) predict the animal health market will double, reaching 53 billion euros. This growth will be driven by three major trends: increasing demand for animal meat in connection with changing demographics, increasing demand and diversification in the pet market, and increasing health threats due to the spread of infectious diseases from animals (avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, etc.).

The new Boehringer Ingelheim animal health business is now the second largest company in the global animal health market, and is the top provider worldwide of parasiticides and vaccines for both production animals and pets. The combined company is now the global leader in the pets, swine, equine and veterinary public health categories, with a strong position in poultry and cattle.

“We see an important opportunity to capitalize on the evolving trends and critical needs to prevent disease and manage the health of animals worldwide,” added Hasenmaier. “We intend to do so by ensuring a smooth integration of our businesses; extending our leadership in vaccination and parasite control programs, and focusing on pet care solutions. It is our ambition to develop new products and solutions that address unmet customer needs with an industry leading R&D investment up to 10%.”

The combined animal health business will in the future represent more than 25 percent of Boehringer Ingelheim’s total revenue and employ more than 10,000 people. Boehringer Ingelheim expects animal health net sales to more than double in 2017 in comparison to the previous year due to the Merial integration

About Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health

As the second largest animal health business in the world, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving animal health. With more than 10,000 employees worldwide, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has products available in more than 150 markets and a global presence in 99 countries. For more information about Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, click here (https://goo.gl/2bg5gv).

Boehringer Ingelheim

Innovative medicines for people and animals have for more than 130 years been what the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim stands for. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies and to this day remains family-owned. Day by day, some 50,000 employees create value through innovation for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing. In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of around 15.9 billion euros. With more than three billion euros, R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.6 per cent of net sales.

Social responsibility comes naturally to Boehringer Ingelheim. That is why the company is involved in social projects such as the “Making More Health” initiative. Boehringer Ingelheim also actively promotes workforce diversity and benefits from its employees’ different experiences and skills. Furthermore, the focus is on environmental protection and sustainability in everything the company does.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.