Merial acquires Newport Laboratories

Merial, the Animal Health division of Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that it has acquired Newport Laboratories, a privately held company based in Worthington, Minnesota, and a leader in autogenous vaccines with a focus on swine and bovine production markets.

“Newport has demonstrated over time the ability to screen field samples and produce autogenous vaccines from large integrated producers with remarkable efficiency,” declared Jose Barella, Chief Executive Officer of Merial. “The combination of Newport’s expertise and Merial’s strength in technology and geographic footprint will reinforce our exposure to the swine market segment and illustrates our strategy to expand our position in treatments for production animals”.

Newport Laboratories’ cutting edge molecular diagnostic technology assists in identifying pathogens, and their novel manufacturing technologies are used to produce quality “PINPOINT” evidence-based – autogenous – vaccines, offering veterinarians and producers alternative methods to help prevent diseases in food animals. Due to this specific positioning, Newport has developed a unique relationship in the U.S. with swine producers.

Merial has been a long-standing leader in vaccine technology with recombinant-vectored vaccines for large animals and pets, the first non-adjuvanted feline vaccine line, and oral rabies vaccines for wildlife. In addition, Merial developed the first therapeutic vaccine for cancer in dogs with xenogeneic plasmid DNA vaccine technology.

Dr. Randy Simonson, Chief Operating Officer, Newport Laboratories commented, “Joining forces with Merial allows us to expand our expertise in the market and enhance the profitability of our customers through solution-based animal healthcare offerings. We will also be able to reach untapped markets in the U.S., and eventually, even bring our expertise to the rest of the world.”

This acquisition will enable Merial to expand its production animal business in the U.S. and optimize Merial’s product technology with Newport’s demand realization expertise, thus providing a unique opportunity to meet the needs of U.S. swine producers. Newport Laboratories will continue to operate from its Worthington site and maintain its high level of service to its customers