Merck Animal Health Receives Two Prestigious Awards From Animal Pharm

MADISON, N.J., Feb. 9, 2021 – Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), today received two prestigious awards from Animal Pharm, the most widely read publication reporting on the animal health industry. Richard DeLuca was recognized with the  2020 Visionary/CEO award and NOBILIS^® SALENVAC^® ETC was awarded with the 2020 Best New Food Animal Product award.

DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health, received the 2020 Visionary/CEO award, for his vision and leadership of the company’s animal health business since 2011, creating a company that continues to have robust growth with a strong and growing global presence.

“What makes the animal health industry unique is the ability to offer customers – veterinarians, farmers, producers and pet owners – with the products, services and solutions to help, improve or enhance health outcomes and the well-being of animals,” said DeLuca in receiving the honor.  “While I am humbled by this recognition, I truly appreciate that we would not be where we are today without the great people of Merck Animal Health.”

DeLuca has shaped the company by providing a strong foundation of growth for people, early-stage development and partnership opportunities and investing in research and development, geographic expansion, new capacity and capabilities and manufacturing excellence. His focus has been on consistent profitable business growth through meaningful innovation, complementary business development and in-house R&D development and, most importantly, the development and growth of people.     

NOBILIS SALENVAC ETC for poultry received the 2020 Best New Food Animal Product award. It is an inactivated, intramuscular, two-dose trivalent Salmonella vaccine, which offers the broadest protection for layers and breeders against three different Salmonella serogroups (B-C-D). This vaccine, the first registered and launched in the European Union in 2020, was developed based on the need for broad Salmonella food safety control in poultry farms. 

“Our poultry portfolio of vaccines, health management solutions and value-added services continues to be strengthened with many notable scientific and commercial breakthroughs,” said KJ Varma, BVSc, PhD, senior vice president, Research and Development, Merck Animal Health. “Salmonellosis is one of the most frequently reported zoonotic diseases in humans with poultry meat and eggs often identified as a potential source of infection. Extensive efforts from our research and development team went into this technology, as it is the third-generation vaccine within the company’s SALENVAC range, built upon a proven scientific platform.”

“We expect this newly launched product will become a mainstay in the fight against Salmonella food safety infections in the poultry industry and will positively impact an environment where food safety, animal welfare and well-being, as well as responsible use of antibiotics is of increasing importance,” said Taylor Barbosa, executive director, Global Marketing, Poultry, Merck Animal Health. “Addressing this significant OneHealth issue is critically important to both poultry and human health. It helps protect poultry health and advances a safe food supply.” 

The Best New Food Animal Product award is also the third year in a row that technology from Merck Animal Health’s vaccine portfolio has won this award. “It is a true testament to our R&D organization,” said Dr. Varma. Last year, the company accepted this honor for PORCILIS^® Lawsonia vaccine for piglets, the first, inactivated, one-dose, lyophilized (freeze-dried) intramuscular bacterial vaccine for piglets from three weeks of age against Lawsonia intracellularis. The year before, the company won the award for the IDAL^® family of devices as the ideal solution for implementing needle-free vaccination on the farm.

To read more about the award, please click on this link: Animal Pharm.

About Merck Animal Health

For 130 years, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.

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This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

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