Posted: October 27, 2009 at 10:24 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) has closed a 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.
“We’ll be expanding our business significantly, in fact, doubling our sales in the United States,” said BIVI president George Heidgerken. “The product assets we’ve acquired from Fort Dodge are a broad range of strong brands in the cattle vaccine business. This is part of our long term strategy to improve our product offerings and our capabilities for the U.S. cattle producers and the U.S. cattle market.”
The cattle vaccines included in the acquisition include 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®.
Listen to or download an interview with George Heidgerken here:
Posted: October 21, 2009 at 7:59 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
A new Pfizer Animal Health was unveiled last week as Pfizer’s acquisition of Wyeth, including its subsidiary Fort Dodge Animal Health, was completed.
The acquisition of many of Fort Dodge’s U.S. products allows Pfizer Animal Health to greatly diversify its U.S. portfolio, as well as broaden its offering in all animal health segments. Pfizer Animal Health now offers an enhanced portfolio in beef, dairy, and companion animals, as well as a redefined product line for swine, equine and poultry.
In the beef and dairy animal category, Pfizer is adding FACTREL® (gonadorelin hydrochloride) and the pioneer line of SYNOVEX® implants to its current cattle portfolio that includes DRAXXIN® (tulathromycin), DECTOMAX®, EXCEDE® (ceftiofur crystalline free acid), EXCENEL® (ceftiofur hydrochloride), BOVI-SHIELD ® GOLD, LUTALYSE® (dinoprost tromethamine), ORBESEAL®, and SPECTRAMAST® (ceftiofur hydrochloride). Pfizer Animal Genetics also continues to explore opportunities to apply genomics technology to livestock health and management solutions.
While I was at World Dairy Expo I also spoke with Dr. Gary Neubauer, Pfizer Animal Health, about the fact that EXCEDE has now been approved by the FDA to treat foot rot.
In this interview with him he begins by talking about the company’s Dairy Wellness Plan which he says is the flagship of the dairy side of Pfizer. He says it’s a 3-pronged approach where “we look at the health and welfare of the cow, we look at the health, welfare and economic vitality of the producer and then we look at the quality, wholesome product for the consumer.” He says they strive for a balance of all three of those so that the cow is healthy, the producer is profitable and the consumer has the best quality product.
Gary says that EXCEDE is on of the premier antibiotics in the Pfizer arsenal because of its long lasting formulation and now it’s approved for foot rot. That, he says, makes it fit right in with their Dairy Wellness Plan.
You can listen to my interview with Gary as part of our Milking Parlor Podcast:
To subscribe to the Milking Parlor podcast, here are some instructions.
Dr. Gary Neubauer, Pfizer Animal Health, attended World Dairy Expo to meet dairy producers and he had a lot of them to meet with! I stopped to ask him about all the activity which included what looked like a lot of political campaign buttons. He says it’s called their Industry Pflair program.
“What Pfizer is trying to do is have a concerted effort in the dairy industry to simply show our pride for the dairy industry, allow producers, veterinarians, industry people to come to the booth and they find lanyards, buttons . . . ” Basically he says that producers can take and wear these items so that people will stop them and ask about it. This provides them with an opportunity then to help educate people about the industry and dispel some of the myths out there. He says people need to realize that a dairy producer is one of the hardest workers you’re going to find.
You can listen to my interview with Gary as part of our Milking Parlor Podcast:
To subscribe to the Milking Parlor podcast, here are some instructions.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc. (BIVI) has closed a 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. 
The acquisition of many of Fort Dodge’s U.S. products allows Pfizer Animal Health to greatly diversify its U.S. portfolio, as well as broaden its offering in all animal health segments. Pfizer Animal Health now offers an enhanced portfolio in beef, dairy, and companion animals, as well as a redefined product line for swine, equine and poultry.
While I was at World Dairy Expo I also spoke with Dr. Gary Neubauer, 
Dr. Gary Neubauer, 
will stop them and ask about it. This provides them with an opportunity then to help educate people about the industry and dispel some of the myths out there. He says people need to realize that a dairy producer is one of the hardest workers you’re going to find.