Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health achieves milestone: 500 million pigs benefit from Mycoplasma vaccination

The pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that veterinarians and farmers across the globe have reached the milestone of protecting more than 500 million pigs from the potentially devastating consequences of Mycoplasma hyopneumonia, by using Ingelvac MycoFLEX®. The vaccine is the market leader in many countries worldwide.

Ingelvac MycoFLEX® was launched by Boehringer Ingelheim in the Americas, Asia and Europe in 2008. The vaccination is used for the treatment of weaned piglets to reduce lung lesions following infection with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Local and international data on markets confirm that the vaccine is the market leader in many countries worldwide, including Argentina, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan and USA1. The vaccine contributes significantly to securing the pigs’ health as well as providing healthier pork for consumers around the world.

“The number of doses of Ingelvac MycoFLEX® that we sold since the vaccine’s launch in 2008 shows that at least 500 million pigs have now been protected by its use. Reaching this landmark in preventing diseases makes us proud,” comments George Heidgerken, Senior Vice President of Animal Health at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Innovation in bottle design

A recent innovation in bottle design provides veterinarians and pig producers with a simple and practical way to mix Ingelvac MycoFLEX® and Ingelvac CircoFLEX® vaccines for their simultaneous application. Originally inspired by customer demand, the design allows the two pig vaccines to be mixed together directly in the MycoFLEX® Headspace bottle – thus eliminating the need for an additional mixing vessel.

Europe-wide market research has revealed that more than 86% of veterinarians who vaccinate their pigs against PCV2 (porcine circovirus type 2) and M. hyo. (Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae) are using that option2. The FLEXcombo® concept of the mixable stand-alone vaccines is the first and only solution to protect pigs against both PCV2 and M. hyo. with a single shot around weaning.

As well as providing premium protection, this single-shot injection of the vaccine mix reduces stress for the pigs and thus brings an additional benefit in animal welfare.

About Ingelvac MycoFLEX®

Ingelvac MycoFLEX® from Boehringer Ingelheim is registered for use as a single 1 ml/dose vaccination of weaned piglets to reduce lung lesions following infection with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo.). Infection with M. hyo. is associated with the development of enzootic pneumonia leading to poor growth and specific lung lesions in pigs. M. hyo. is a widespread pathogen, found in swine herds throughout the world.

References

1.   Local and international market research data (data on file).
2.   Market research “Produkt+Markt” Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Netherlands, UK, Italy, 2012 (data on file).