Major Innovation in Poultry Vaccines: Merial Avinewtm NeO Effervescent Tablet Advances Vaccine Delivery

Merial, the animal health division of Sanofi, today announced the global launch of a significant innovation in poultry vaccination technology: an effervescent tablet vaccine for the prevention of Newcastle disease virus (NDV). The Avinew^TM NeO effervescent tablet is a simple, convenient and eco-friendly formulation that contains the same active ingredients as Merial’s Avinew™ vaccine, with comparable, high levels of safety and efficacy. Merial’s Avinew vaccine is the world’s number one avian vaccine in doses sold (15 billion doses in 2014) and is distributed to poultry farms in more than 80 countries on four continents.

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The Avinew NeO effervescent tablet was launched today at the 2015 International Congress of the World Veterinary Poultry Association (WVPA) in Cape Town, South Africa. Merial expects to start global roll-out of the product in the next weeks. The Avinew NeO vaccine is the first of six planned Merial vaccines in effervescent tablet form to prevent avian diseases.

Technology advancements like the Avinew NeO tablet are critical to enhance poultry disease prevention through production and cost efficiencies in light of the growing need for protein in the world. By 2050, 70 percent more food will be required to feed the world’s population¹, and by 2020, chicken will overtake pork as the global animal protein of choice².

Avinew NeO effervescent tablets replace the traditional vial and syringe vaccine application used for decades by poultry farmers worldwide. The new vaccine is designed to significantly improve vaccination practices and reduce costs for poultry producers while maintaining reliable virus protection, through:

• A simplified mixing and handling process that complies with good vaccination practices;
• Improved safety for operators and birds; and
• Environmental benefits of waste reduction, eco-friendly packaging and carbon footprint reduction during transportation.

“Merial is excited to introduce the Avinew NeO tablet, whose unique formulation has the potential to transform poultry vaccination practices around the world,” said Jérôme Baudon, Global Head of the Avian Business at Merial. “This introduction is exemplary of Merial’s commitment to deliver significant innovations to help poultry producers protect the health of their flocks, and feed our world’s increasing population. We will continue to further diversify our avian offerings with innovative vaccines focused on prevention, and respond to the changing needs of our customers.”

Avinew NeO tablets are packaged in lightweight aluminum blisters and dissolved in drinking water. The vaccine is administered orally, nasally or by aerosol spray, whereby droplets enter via the mucus membranes of the birds. Merial invested more than €15 million at its global manufacturing site in Lyon-Porte-des-Alpes, France, for the production of the Avinew NeO vaccines.

At the WVPA Congress 2015, Merial is presenting clinical data from multiple Avinew NeO, safety, efficacy and bioequivalence studies. In addition, the Company sponsored the 2015 WVPA-Merial Innovation in Vaccination Award, presented today to Siba K. Samal, PhD, Professor, Chair and Associate Dean, VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland. Dr. Samal and his team developed live-attenuated vaccines by genetically modifying virulent NDV strains circulating in Indonesia and Mexico. He also engineered NDV as a vector vaccine against other important poultry diseases such as infectious bursal disease, avian influenza, infectious bronchitis, and infectious laryngotracheitis. This novel vaccine technology has wide-spread application for future vaccine development.

Merial has a 30-year history of partnering with poultry producers worldwide to improve the health and productivity of their flocks, primarily through biological vaccines that help prevent a wide range of highly contagious viruses that have the potential to infect entire flocks, and cause devastating financial losses for poultry farmers. Annually, Merial produces more than 90 billion doses in 1,000 poultry vaccine presentations to protect birds against 20 different diseases worldwide.

About Newcastle Disease Virus

Newcastle disease virus is a highly contagious and often severe poultry disease. It is caused by a virus that usually presents as a respiratory disease, but depression, nervous manifestations, or diarrhea may be the predominant clinical form. The disease is currently well-controlled in the United States, Canada and some western European countries but continues in parts of Africa, Asia and South America. Since wild birds can sometimes carry the virus without becoming ill, poultry outbreaks can occur anywhere in unvaccinated flocks; when this occurs, an entire flock will typically become infected within two to six days³.

About Merial

Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health and well-being of a wide range of animals. Merial employs 6,500 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide with over €2 billion of sales in 2014. Merial is a Sanofi company. For more information, please see www.merial.com.

References: 1. How to Feed the World in 2050. FAO Rome 12-13 October 2009. High Level Expert Forum, pg. 2 2. Rabobank. Crossroads for Growth. The International Poultry Sector Towards 2020. Nan-Dirk Mulder, pg. 3 3. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Media_Center/docs/pdf/Disease_cards/NEWCAS-EN.pdf

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Contact information

Merial
Amanda Evans, +33-607-953-408
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Merial
Heidi De Wit-Sommerfeld, +1-678-638-3763