Boehringer Ingelheim, a global pharmaceutical group of companies, together with its US animal health business, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., has announced that it has closed its deal with Pfizer to acquire a significant portion of the Fort Dodge Animal Health business.

The acquisition, which includes products in the US, Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, significantly increases the size of Boehringer Ingelheim's companion animal and cattle portfolios and strengthens the company's position as a leading vaccine supplier. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Products being acquired in Europe are still subject to approval by European anti-trust authorities.

Hubertus von Baumbach, Member of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim responsible for Finance and Animal Health, said: "Boehringer Ingelheim and Fort Dodge share a strong commitment to innovation and this will continue to be the imperative basis of all our activities as we move forward.

"With the closing of this deal, our attention now turns to ensuring a seamless integration of the highly committed teams of people as well as the transition of the product portfolio. We aim to jointly execute a robust business strategy that ensures the continued growth of our animal health business in the US and globally by continuously providing innovation to our customers."

As part of the deal, Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire the Duramune® line of vaccines for dogs, the Fel-O-Vax® line of vaccines for cats, and the Rabvac® line of rabies vaccines manufactured and sold in the US, Canada and Australia. In addition, a portfolio of pet and equine pharmaceutical products currently sold in the US is also included in the deal.

The company will also acquire cattle vaccines in the US and Canada including the Triangle®, Pyramid®, and Presponse® vaccine lines. Pharmaceutical products being acquired include Cydectin® (moxidectin) for cattle and sheep as well as Polyflex® (ampicillin sodium). The dairy portfolio includes the key brands Today® and Tomorrow®. Several Canadian swine vaccines are included in the acquisition as are some cattle vaccines sold in Europe and South Africa.

Professor Andreas Barner, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "The products included in this acquisition complement our already strong product lines and help to broaden our innovation base across more species and boost our global pipeline."

"We look forward to applying our innovative culture to the products included in this acquisition as well as to the research and discovery of new products that will continue to bring value to our customers and our business."