2005 Annual report - Virbac

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Acquisitions and disposals
Virbac SA acquired its main Greek distributor Zoforos in July
2005 and thereby strengthened its position in this market.
In October 2005, Virbac Australia disposed of the assets of
MR Manufacturing and Packaging acquired in 2000 in the
acquisition of Vetsearch and which carried out contract
manufacturing of human pharmaceutical products.
Research, Development
and Licensing
In 2005, 6.7% of sales was set aside for Research,
Development and Licensing. 2005 was the first full year of
the Vietnamese regional centre, dedicated to Asia specific
projects.
A new manager was appointed to manage North America
R&D, which operates at two sites in the US: Fort Worth
(Texas) and Saint Louis (Missouri). New processes for
generating and selecting projects based on European
experience were put in place within this entity, the increased
importance of which should become evident in the future.
The other regional Research, Development and Licensing
centres are located in Australia and Mexico. Smaller entities
focused on local development and regulatory affairs are also
in place in South Africa and Japan. The latter unit works
closely with the main Carros centre, which handles European
requirements as well as all biology projects and certain
global projects in companion animals.
In France, the ivermectin-based product registrations
(Virbamec ® , Eraquell ® , Equimax ® ) granted in 2004 and
2005 enabled Virbac to offer a full range of specialties based
on this molecule, which is now in the public domain. The
granting of the palatable Rilexine ® registration in several
European countries in 2005 followed by its immediate
release with the total compliance programme enabled Virbac
to reaffirm its leadership position in dermatology.
The registration of this key product is ongoing in other
European and non-European countries. Important
applications were submitted during the year, two of which
using the centralised procedure reserved for innovative
products and providing simultaneous market access in all
European countries.
In Latin America, Australia and South Africa several
registrations were obtained, in particular in the field of food
producing animals, major markets in these regions. In Japan,
the registration of Sulidène ® (anti-inflammatory for
companion animals) strengthens the product range of the
subsidiary.
In biology, work on the regulatory review of vaccine
applications in Europe continued. In parallel, the
development of new biological products continued
unabated. The development of the vaccine against
leishmaniasis suffered from some delays that in no way
affect its appeal and feasibility, which nevertheless continues
to be a risky project.
Licensing continued unabated during 2005 and brought
about the marketing of Preventic ® spot-on (external
parasiticide for companion animals) and Equimyl ®
(skin hygiene product for horses) on the German market.
The development of products without marketing
authorisations materialised with the launch of the new
advanced formula for Fortiflex ® , a product used to combat
motricity function disorders in dogs. Work also continued
on several other specialities with planned launches in Europe
and Japan in 2006.
Production
In France
Investments have been made in France to adapt capacity,
improve productivity and to stay in line with changes in
regulatory requirements.
At the Carros site
The installation of a new freeze dryer in the vaccine
production unit was completed in 2005.
A new transmission line and two new packaging lines were
installed to increase capacity and improve productivity.
The lean manufacturing project undertaken in 2004
continued in 2005. It is an ongoing improvement project
designed to adapt as best possible to customer requirements
by improving efficiency and flexibility via the implementation
of a pull system but also performance methods and
indicators (batch and format switchover times, machine
operating time at optimal speed…).