26 research projects related to Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) infection funded by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health over the past 9 years

Ingelheim, Germany, 03-Mar-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — For the ninth time, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has funded independent European research projects related to Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) infection and associated diseases. Over the past nine years, 26 research projects have been awarded with € 25,000 each accumulating to € 650,000 in total.

More than 30 European scientists joined the award ceremony, which took place at the Ghent University in Belgium. The 2015 European PCV2 research awards were granted to the laureates by the head of the review board, Professor Maurice Pensaert, former head of the Laboratory of Virology of Ghent University in Belgium. The independent review board selected the following projects to be funded:

• “Starting the infection chain” – PCV2-infection status of new-born piglets on endemically infected farms(Tijs Tobias, Lucia Dieste Pérez, Arie van Nes, Cees van Maanen, Tom Duinhof, The Netherlands)
• Infection dynamics of PCV2 in different stages of pig production (Matthias Eddicks and Robert Fux, Germany)
• Degree of replication in lymphoblasts and lysis in monocytic cells of PCV2 in different pig breeds, the basis for selection towards less susceptible pigs (Ruifang Wei, Belgium)

At the PCV2 Award Ceremony, the winners presented an outline of their independent research projects while Bernd Grosse Liesner (Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health) shared new scientific findings on the benefits of the compatible vaccination of piglets and sows against PCV2.
In addition, previous award winners shared preliminary results of their projects funded through the European PCV2 research awards:

• Dirk Werling (UK): Prevention of initial replication of PCV2 by vaccination with Ingelvac CircoFLEX®
• Armin Saalmüller (Austria): Simultaneous application of Ingelvac® CircoFLEX and Ingelvac® PRRSV MLV improves the efficacy of PRRSV vaccination
• Nicolas Rose (France): Assessment of the impact of PCV2 infection on hepatitis E virus shedding in experimentally co-infected SPF pigs

European Porcine Circovirus (PCV2) Research Award
Boehringer Ingelheim continuously supports independent applied research in the field of PCV2 immunity, pathogenesis, epidemiology and interaction with other (potential) pathogens. The European PCV2 Research Award is an annual award that recognizes research proposals in this area of applied PCV2 research. An independent review board with leading European scientists in applied porcine research reviews the entries and decides upon the winning proposals. A maximum of three prizes, each worth € 25,000, are granted to European researchers every year, in order to advance scientific knowledge in the area of PCV2 research.

About Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is the 6th largest animal health business in the world and is committed to providing leading innovative solutions to prevent, treat and cure animal diseases. With approximately 4,000 employees worldwide, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health achieved net sales of about € 1.13 billion in 2014. Main brands of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Animal Health portfolio are Ingelvac Circoflex® (2014 sales of € 260 million), Metacam® (2014 sales of € 93 million), Ingelvac PRRS® (2014 sales of € 74 million), Duramune® (2014 sales of € 69 million) and Vetmedin® (2014 sales of € 57 million), representing 8% of the corporation’s revenue base. From a regional perspective, Boehringer Ingelheim has its legacy as an Animal Health company in the US with most of its R&D and manufacturing infrastructure located there. Significant investments have been made recently in Hanover, Germany and are underway in China. The Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business is currently holding strong positions in swine and cattle vaccines as well as in pharmaceutical specialties for animal use. In its research-driven Animal Health business, Boehringer Ingelheim continually invests more than 12% of net sales of the Animal Health business in R&D.

Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates globally with 146 affiliates and a total of more than 47,700 employees. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

Social responsibility is an important element of the corporate culture at Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes worldwide involvement in social projects, such as the initiative “Making more Health” and caring for its employees. Respect, equal opportunities and reconciling career and family form the foundation of this mutual cooperation. In everything it does, the company focuses on environmental protection and sustainability.

In 2014, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 13.3 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.9 percent of its net sales.

For more information please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

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The Winners of the 2016 PCV2 Research Award with the Members of the Review Board and Representatives of Boehringer Ingelheim.