Persbericht
17 november 2004, nr. 113
Wageningen UR verkoopt patentenfamilie rond `Lelystad-virus'
aan Boehringer Ingelheim
Wageningen UR heeft Boehringer Ingelsheim GmbH, de Duitse
farmaceutische firma op gebied van gezondheid van dieren, de
patentenfamilie rond het Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome
(PRRS) verkocht.
De Animal Science Group van Wageningen UR heeft samen met industriële
partners een jarenlange expertise opgebouwd in de diagnostiek van en
vaccins tegen PPRS, ook wel het Leystad-virus genoemd. Dit virus
veroorzaakt reproductieve- en ademhalingsproblemen bij varkens en
vormt een van de belangrijkste wereldwijde bedreigingen voor de
productie van varkens.
Wageningen UR richt zich op het ontwikkelen en het marktrijp maken van
kennis, veelal in samenwerking met een industriële partner. De
commerciële benutting van de dan gecreëerde waarde kan naar het
oordeel van Wageningen UR het best geschieden door een industriële
partij.
Boehringer Ingelheim heeft dit nieuws van het verkrijgen van de
patentenfamilie bekend gemaakt in het navolgende persbericht:
Boehringer Ingelheim Announces Acquisition of PRRS Patent portfolio
from ID-Lelystad
INGELHEIM, Germany, November 11, 2004 - Boehringer Ingelheim Animal
Health Germany today announced that it acquired the patent portfolio
for Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) from
ID-Lelystad BV, Lelystad, The Netherlands.
Previously ID-Lelystad had granted Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH the same
patents under an exclusive licensing agreement. Simultaneously to
signing the sales documents, both companies entered a five-year R&D
agreement that commences from January 2005. This extends the
companies' successful ten-year collaboration in the field of
veterinary product research and development.
"We are delighted that we have been able to develop our relationship
with ID-Lelystad in such a way," states Dr Joachim Hasenmaier, Head of
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. "We know that PRRS is a complex
disease pattern that causes huge losses in the pig industry every year
and we are confident that our newly established team of prominent
researchers and partners will continue to provide pork producers with
new, efficacious vaccine solutions in years to come."
Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome (PRRS) is one of the
major challenges for swine producers around the globe that causes
considerable losses in the pig industry.
The acquisition of the PRRS patents further underlines the commitment
of Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health to strengthen the swine vaccine
portfolio. It currently provides several innovative swine vaccines
under the brands of Ingelvac® and Enterisol®.
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading
pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it
operates globally with 152 affiliates in 45 countries and more than
34,000 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 2003, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 7.4 billion euro
while spending more than one fifth of net sales in its largest
business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.
The animal health business is conducted in 20 countries including USA,
Canada, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the Nordic countries and
Japan. Since 1954, 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.
Wageningen Universiteit