Enterisol® Ileitis approved in Australia - first live swine vaccine ever in this market

Ingelheim, Germany, 22 June 2006 – Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health GmbH, announced today that the Australian regulatory authorities have granted market authorization for the porcine live vaccine Enterisol® Ileitis. Enterisol® Ileitis has been approved for the active immunization of pigs against the bacteria Lawsonia intracellularis as an aid to prevent and control porcine proliferative enteropathy.

Enterisol® Ileitis is the first live porcine vaccine in Australia. “We are pleased that Boehringer Ingelheim´s high quality standards in vaccine production complied with Australia’s highly demanding regulatory environment. We hope that many farmers can now benefit from the outstanding safety and efficacy of this innovative live vaccine” said Dr Hans-Juergen Leuchs, Member of the Board of Managing Directors at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Ileitis (porcine proliferative enteropathy) is a common enteric disease of pigs, which causes severe intestinal lesions, diarrhea and gut-bleedings which can negatively affect the growth performance in fattening due to reduced weight gain, extra feed costs in growing pigs and increased body weight variation at slaughter.

Ileitis is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide which affects swine production. According to recent diagnostic surveys1,2, in up to 90% of farms at least one pig was diagnosed to be infected by Lawsonia intracellularis.

With Ileitis-affected pigs which are poorly gaining weight, the farmer faces considerable economic losses. With the prevention of clinical signs of the infection and the improvement of economical factors (e.g. weight gain), the financial benefit for the farmer can even be as high as € 4 - 5 per slaughtered pig 3, 4. “Enterisol® Ileitis does not only make good economic sense, it is also an essential tool for the reduction of the total antibiotic use in pig farms” says Dr Hasenmaier, Head of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health GmbH.

In 2001, Enterisol® Ileitis has been launched in North America and has been licensed in three South-American countries, in nineteen European countries and in two Asian countries. Since 2001, more than 110 million pigs have been vaccinated worldwide, establishing Ileitis control as an essential part of professional pig health management.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica belong to the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies. The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies.
Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 143 affiliates in 47 countries and nearly 37,500 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 2005, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 9.5 billion euro while spending nearly one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.

The animal health business is conducted in more than 20 countries including USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the Nordic countries Japan and China. Since 1955, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is contributing to an adequate supply of safe, nutritious food and is promoting the emotional and physical benefits arising from the human-animal bond.

References:
[1] McOrist, S., Barcellos, D.E., Wilson, R.J. (2003). Global patterns of Porcine Proliferative Enteropathy. The Pig Journal, 51, 26 - 35
[2] Hardge, T.; C. Keller; R. Seinheuer; Ph. Tessier; J.M. Salleras; P. Rubio ; K. Vestergaard; G. Cluydts; V. Ceccarelli; M. Bugliesi; R. Schippers; K. Johnson; A. Henderson; I. Papatsas; E. Eichin; T. Trela, A. Bulay, C. Maala (2005): The prevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis infection in Europe. Proc. of the 2nd Congress of the Asian Pig Veterinary Soc. September 19 – 21, 2005, Manila
[3] Hardge, T.; Elbers, K.; Langbein, U.; Schroeder, B. (2004): Ileitis prevention by oral vaccination – European experiences. The Pig Journal, 54, 17-34
[4] Voets, H. (2005): Global efficacy and economics of Enterisol® Ileitis; a meta-analysis. Proc. of the European Enterisol® Ileitis Symposium, Oct 13th – 15th, Barcelona, Spain

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