MSD Animal Health launches specialized website

MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the U.S. and Canada) has announced the launch of its High Quality Congress website to support producers of poultry, swine and aquaculture. Since 2012, MSD Animal Health’s High Quality Congresses have served the industry by bringing together a wide range of experts to discuss the latest advances in production and management across these species to ensure the success of producers by improving health, productivity and well-being of their animals.
“As our customers strive to meet growing consumer demand for safe, quality and affordable protein, as well as transparency in the way animals are raised, MSD Animal Health is playing a decisive role in helping them succeed,” said Fabio Paganini, Food Production Animal Business Unit, MSD Animal Health. “We are committed to innovating new solutions and providing value-added services such as the High Quality Congresses that can help producers provide high quality meat and continually earn the confidence of their customers.”
By visiting HighQualityCongress.com, producers can access news about upcoming and past Congresses, as well as a repository of information about MSD Animal Health programs and technologies, such as The Convenience Program^®, a hatchery-oriented service delivering early protection for a more robust business, and RESPIG^®, a dedicated swine health service that provides cutting-edge insights on many complex respiratory diseases.
“MSD Animal Health is pleased to serve the industry through our ongoing leadership and innovation in disease prevention and animal well-being,” said Paganini. “We will continue to provide the services and solutions our customers need to meet the world’s growing demands for quality protein.”
More than 3,000 industry professionals from nearly 100 countries have participated in 18 High Quality Congresses since the program’s inception.

First Animine Academy held in Paris

The European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) and Animine hosted the first Animine Academy in mid-September. This two-day scientific conference in Paris brought together more than 100 people from Europe, Asia, Australia and the U.S. Renowned speakers from INRA (France), Wageningen University (the Netherlands), the Technical University of München (Germany) and Agroscope (Switzerland) gave in-depth reviews on trace mineral nutrition of monogastrics, focusing on zinc and copper for the first edition.
Andrea Rosati, secretary general of the EAAP said, “We are pleased to build bridges between science and the industry, when an event with a high scientific content is organized.”
Stéphane Durosoy, president of Animine, said “We believe that the industry needs, from time to time, to be educated with robust scientific reviews, and we achieved this objective with Animine Academy.”

'Research and Markets' has added global animal health category

Research and Markets, the world's largest market research store, has announced the addition of the "Global Animal Health Market 2015-2019" report to its offering.
Market leaders are increasing their investments in R&D for the development of new animal food and health products. Zoetis is focusing on R&D to broaden its product and vaccine ranges for other new species of animals worldwide. Their current R&D facilities are close to manufacturing sites so as to reduce transportation costs and increase production efficiency. Iowa State University and Zoetis signed a collaborative agreement to develop a vaccine for the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in the US. These R&D activities help in increasing the products and services in the market, thereby increasing the market size. For instance, Zoetis had about 180 product approvals in 2014, demonstrating a high level of R&D productivity in the market.
According to the report, currently, in developing countries, the consumption of food shifted from staples to dairy and meat products because of the rise in disposable income. The increase in livestock leads to the demand for related preventive and curative services. These factors will drive the demand for animal healthcare products. The global animal health market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.96% over the period 2014-2019.
The report states that patent expiries of approved animal products adversely impact market growth and result in the loss of an exclusive market, leading to rapidly declining sales.
Key topics covered:

• Executive summary
• Market landscape
• Market segmentation by animal type
• Market segmentation by products
• Geographical segmentation
• Market drivers
• Impact of Drivers
• Market challenges
• Impact of drivers and challenges
• Market trends
• Vendor landscape
• Other prominent vendors
• Key vendor analysis

Brazil's new animal health document aids genetics sector

A new animal health certificate (CZI) has been published by Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture. It should help the country's poultry genetics producers to gain quicker access to export markets.
The certificate, which is available in Portuguese in combination with either English, Spanish or French, offers a simpler approach than that taken with the previous certificate and covers the sanitary and other requirements usually demanded by importing countries.
According to the Brazilian Association of Animal Protein (ABPA), the new CZI will help producers of fertile eggs and other genetic material gain access to new markets.
ABPA executive president Francisco Turra commented: “With this new approach, we can skip a few steps and push negotiations forward to open new markets for the sector. This is particularly beneficial at the moment, given that there are markets in the middle of crises that need to import chicks and fertilized eggs.”

H.J. Baker to build facility in Emporia, Kansas

Global agriculture company, H.J. Baker, has announced the expansion of its Animal Health and Nutrition division with the ground breaking of a new multi-million facility in Emporia, KS.
H.J. Baker’s new encapsulation facility will be built on 15 acres and will begin production as early as March 2016. The 13,000 square foot facility will include offices, warehouse and processing floor, which will include state-of-the-art equipment that has been designed and built in the USA.
“The new facility will allow H.J. Baker to create new local jobs as well as a strong opportunity for us to continue innovating within our industry,” H.J. Baker President and CEO Christopher Smith said. “We’re very excited to join the growing number of businesses in Emporia. The city has been welcoming and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
“We welcome H.J. Baker to Emporia,” stated Kent Heermann, President of the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas (RDA). “Our conversations with H.J. Baker began in early February 2015 as a direct result of proactive marketing efforts. Another great company joins our growing and diversified animal nutrition cluster.”
“Kansas has become a leader in the animal healthcare and nutrition sector thanks to the investment and expertise of businesses such as H.J. Baker,” Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George said. “The company’s facility in Emporia will support the continued growth of this important industry.”
H.J. Baker has been pioneering the Animal Health industry using amino acid feed ingredients since the late 1980s. The company’s METABOLYS® and METABOMET® technologies deliver critical amino acids to dairy cows and give dairymen increased benefits in milk volume and richer milk components.
“H.J. Baker has been expanding globally in recent years, and it’s a pleasure to continue that expansion inside the United States, adding skilled American Jobs,” Smith said. He added, “The encapsulated amino acid market is growing nationally and globally and with our new Emporia facility we anticipate being able to cater to that growth.”

Animal health safe as Brazil trims budgets

The Brazilian government has reaffirmed its commitment to animal health. Like many other countries, Brazil is looking to cut public expenditure, however speaking at SIAV, the International Poultry and Pork Show, Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu said that the time was right to make a public announcement.
“If the ministry’s budget only ran to BRL1, that money would go to animal health,” she said.
Speaking to a group business, and political representatives, she continued that there was no point in having good logistics in the country if animal health could not be guaranteed, adding that expanding overseas sales of Brazilian poultry and meat were dependent on being granted health certificates.
Businesses need to work with the ministry in winning new markets, Abreu continued.
The commitment came days after the ministry announced that it had achieved savings of BRL69 million (US$21 million) in operational costs, and that all of these savings would be redirected to supporting animal health. It was also revealed that the ministry was considering the sale of certain assets belong to the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, EMBRAPA, to raise money.

H.J. Baker to build new facility in Kansas

Global agriculture company, H.J. Baker, is excited to announce the expansion of its Animal Health and Nutrition division with the groundbreaking of a new multimillion dollar facility in Emporia, KS.
H.J. Baker’s new encapsulation facility will be built on 15 acres in Industrial Park III and will begin production as early as March 2016. The 13,000 square foot facility will include offices, warehouse and processing floor, which will include state of the art equipment that has been designed and built in the USA.
“The new facility will allow H.J. Baker to create new local jobs as well as a strong opportunity for us to continue innovating within our industry,” H.J. Baker President and CEO Christopher Smith said. “We’re very excited to join the growing number of businesses in Emporia. The city has been welcoming and we look forward to working with them in the future.”
“We welcome H.J. Baker to Emporia,” said Kent Heermann, President of the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas. “Our conversations with H.J. Baker began in early February 2015 as a direct result of proactive marketing efforts. Another great company joins our growing and diversified animal nutrition cluster.”
“Kansas has become a leader in the animal healthcare and nutrition sector thanks to the investment and expertise of businesses such as H.J. Baker,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. “The company’s facility in Emporia will support the continued growth of this important industry.”
H.J. Baker has been pioneering the Animal Health industry using amino acid feed ingredients since the late 1980s. The company’s METABOLYS® and METABOMET® technologies deliver critical amino acids to dairy cows and gives dairymen increased benefits in milk volume and richer milk components.
“H.J. Baker has been expanding globally in recent years, and it’s a pleasure to continue that expansion inside the United States adding skilled American jobs,” Smith added. “The encapsulated amino acid market is growing nationally and globally and with our new Emporia facility we anticipate being able to cater to that growth.”

SRUC awards Professorship to Dr. Jos Houdijk

The Scotland Rural College (SRUC) awarded Dr. Jos Houdijk with a Professorship in Animal Nutrition and Health today.
Based at Roslin, in a building shared by SRUC and the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Houdijk is one of Europe’s leading livestock nutritionists, and has a great ability to engage with farmers and agri-industry. Under the pseudonym Dr. Poo, he is a popular figure at festivals and other events introducing children to the excitement of science!
Addressing the audience gathered for the graduation ceremony, Professor Geoff Simm, Vice Principal Research, described how Dr. Houdijk’s fundamental research has provided the international scientific community with an understanding of how nutritional stress affects the way livestock can cope with disease.
“His work on protein nutrition in sheep has stimulated farmers and the feed industry to improve protein supply around the critical period of lambing, while his research into protein nutrition for weaner pigs has contributed to industry trends to reduce total protein levels in pig diets,” said Simm. “Meanwhile even more farmers are now growing chicory to feed sheep since his experiments showing the plant helped control parasites like worms. Today he is Head of SRUC’s newly formed Monogastric Science Research Centre, which has some 30 staff studying issues linked to nutrition in pigs and poultry.”
Dr. Houdijk was commended for the way he works with livestock farmers and the feed industry to identify problems and then design high-quality research to address them. His published work has been cited nearly 1,500 times by other researchers across the world.
Renowned for being an enthusiastic and engaging lecturer, he has been an active committee member of the British Society of Animal Science for almost 20 years, serving on its conference program committee. The animal nutritionist is currently responsible for implementing novel initiatives to increase the visibility of UK Animal Science for the benefit of academics and industry. Similarly he is a long-standing member of the Nutrition Society and is currently Deputy Editor of the Nutrition Society’s prestigious
Nutrition Research Review
journal.

Exclusive U.S. distribution rights for NoxiFerm go to Brookside Agra

Brookside Agra has secured exclusive rights to distribute all-natural NoxiFerm™ feed supplement in the United States. Specifically formulated to improve average daily gain and feed efficiency in broiler chickens and pigs, NoxiFerm provides a synergistic blend of sodium gluconate and all-natural flavoring compounds containing polyphenols commonly found in herbs, fruits and vegetables.
Antioxidants are natural substances which protect the cells of the body from harmful and unstable molecules known as free radicals. The antioxidants in NoxiFerm, three times as potent as pure Vitamin E, work to stabilize those free radicals and improve animal health. Sodium gluconate promotes the production of short chain fatty acids which are used as an energy source for the animal, and also increases intestinal villous height and crypt depth which works to improve production results.
"We are really excited about having sole distributor rights for this all-natural and proven effective product in the U.S.," said Bill Bayless, Vice-President of Business Development at Brookside Agra. “The supporting research data is strong. We believe NoxiFerm will have a positive impact on the financial bottom-line for broiler producers and pork producers.”
In a recent trial with two broiler groups, one fed NoxiFerm and the other regular feed, the NoxiFerm-fed broiler weighed an average of 72 grams more than the control broiler after 10, 21 and 35 days.  On average, the NoxiFerm-fed broiler also consumed 6.7% less feed than the control broiler.
In a similar farm trial on 52 control piglets and 52 NoxiFerm-fed piglets, the average weight of the control piglets was 11.50 kg after 21 days, while the NoxiFerm-fed piglets boasted an average weight of 12.40 kg during the same time period.
NoxiFerm’s effect will be seen in the animal by:


• Stimulation of the immune system
• Improved health conditions
• Improved production results
• Reduced use of antioxidants such as Vitamins E and C
• Reduced heat stress
• Supported high feed intake during hot environments 
Patent-pending NoxiFerm is a dry, fine granule product that is simply added to feed. It has no risk of corrosion and has a shelf life of two years from the date of production.

InVivo Animal Nutrition and Health accelerates recruitment of executives

As a result of strong growth momentum in France and abroad, InVivo NSA is strengthening its teams and recruiting new talent to support development over the next ten years. The company's Management Committee invites High Potential employees from all professional backgrounds to come and talk about their career plans in Paris on June 5 and in Rennes on June 19. The company is recruiting to fill 20 positions, and offering top job opportunities in all areas, such as operations, finance, marketing, IT, projects, innovation and R&D.
The company recently increased its capital by 215 million Euros to achieve its ten-year strategic plan, "2025 by InVivo.” This capital increase will allow the company to accelerate its international development and make targeted and structuring acquisitions, such as the recent acquisitions of Total Alimentos, the third largest pet food company in Brazil, and Pancosma, the Swiss world leader on the ingredients and additives market.
This development has been made possible through the company's dynamic recruitment policy. The company has recruited over 100 people every year over the past three years.

3 new reports detail animal health, agribusiness outlook

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  freeimages.com

  New reports available online examine the animal health and agribusiness outlook.

  From WATTAgNet:
  New reports available online examine the global animal health market outlook, the North American Soy Protein Market, and agribusiness in Vietnam.
  The reports, available online, are:
  “Global Animal Health Market Outlook to 2018 - Increasing Meat Consumption to Spur Demand for Animal Health Products,” from Market Research Reports Inc.
  “North America Soy Protein Market By Type (Soy Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Concentrate, Soy Flour), By Application (Baby Food, Bakery, Confectionary, Dairy Alternative, Functional Food, Meat Substitutes), By Geography- Trends and Forecast up to 2019,” from MicroMarket Monitor
  “Vietnam Agribusiness Report Q2 2015,” from Business Monitor International
  The first report provides a detailed overview of the animal health market around the world and covers various aspects such as market size of the global animal health industry.
  The North American soy protein market report defines and segments the soy protein market in North America with analysis and forecast of market size.
  The Vietnam Agribusiness Report shows that recent developments in the country's economic and business environment outlooks add further weight to a positive view on Vietnam's agribusiness sector. The industry holds strong growth opportunities in terms of production, exports and retail sales, particularly with regard to the rice, coffee, livestock and dairy sectors.

InVivo finalizes capital increase, aims to double sales

InVivo has finalized a capital increase for its animal health and nutrition division that will see investors inject EUR215 million (US$234.8 million), according to a report.
Last year, InVivo said it planned a capital increase to contribute about half of EUR500 million in new financing as it aims to double sales at the division over the next 10 years. Sales last year were EUR1.3 billion.
Private equity firm Eurazeo said last month that it was in negotiations to enter InVivo’s capital and last week said it was looking to invest EUR114 million. Other participants in the capital increase include CDC International Capital, Credit Agricole’s Idia unit and Unigrains. An InVivo spokeswoman said the group would retain 67 percent of the capital.
Credit Agricole and Unigrains already were shareholders in InVivo under a previous agreement that expired in 2014.

Catalonia animal health research groups integrated

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishery, Food, and Environment (DAAM) of the government of Catalonia has approved the integration of the Centre for Animal Health Research (CReSA) Foundation into the Institute for Agri-Food Research and Technology (IRTA). With the approval, the governing council has been given the green light to the agreement by which it authorizes the global cessation of assets and liabilities, and subsequent dissolution of the CReSA Foundation in favor of IRTA.
The CReSA Foundation was created by IRTA and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in 1999. The aim of the foundation was the collaboration between the UAB, IRTA, and the private sector, to promote research and technological development, studies, and education in the field of animal health, in all its aspects.
All CReSA´s capacities will be integrated into the scientific structure of IRTA. This will increase IRTA´s potential for development favoring the compliance of its mission: "To contribute to modernize, improve, boost competitiveness, and foster sustainable development in the agrarian, food, and aquatic fields, the supply of healthier, quality foodstuff for the consumers and, in general, improve the well-being of the population."
On the other hand, an agreement between IRTA and the UAB was signed to ensure a continuity in the collaboration at institutional level between both entities, which to date has given good results.
CReSA´s integration into IRTA is a clear future opportunity, completely aligned with the goals of IRTA ant the UAB, which allows having a consolidated, widely recognized center that is a national and international reference in the animal health sector.
IRTA will continue the activities of the foundation, as it has the capacities to integrate CReSA´s activities on animal health, while complying with the rationalization and simplification promoted by the government in the public sector with the dissolution of the foundation.

Elanco finalizes Novartis Animal Health acquisition

Elanco has finalized the acquisition of Novartis Animal Health. With the deal, Elanco will offer a portfolio of nearly 300 brands encompassing therapeutics, vaccines, parasiticides, antimicrobials, food safety, surgical, enzymes and more.
The acquisition, announced in April, follows Elanco’s purchase of Lohmann Animal Health earlier in 2014. Both strategic investments allow the company to provide a more diversified product offering and capabilities to help customers sustain and grow their businesses.
“Elanco’s acquisition of Novartis Animal Health brings together two strong companies with a passion for serving the customer,” said Rob Aukerman, president North American Commercial Operations for Elanco. “We will continue to offer the products our customers trust, while significantly investing in the development of new solutions to our customers’ greatest unmet needs.”
In the future, Elanco will increase investment in research and development. The combined organization will have expanded capabilities and expertise with numerous product development projects focused on:
• protecting livestock from disease and parasites, improving animal well-being and reducing the environmental footprint of livestock production
• providing a broader set of solutions in areas such as enzymes, diagnostics, aquaculture and vaccines
• enhancing care and extending quality of life of pets, while preventing disease and protecting from parasites
“We’ll continually seek innovative ways we can support our customers’ business,” Aukerman said. “With increased technical services that combine our analytic and benchmarking tools with on-the-ground support, we'll be able to spend more time with individual customers seeking innovative solutions that can make a difference in their business.”

Disease surveillance must be strengthened globally, says World Organisation for Animal Health

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has warned of the need to strengthen surveillance and early detection systems for diseases of domestic and wild animals throughout the world and has recommended making this a major objective of official health policies.
It notes that, over the past year, millions of poultry have fallen victim to highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8. This new strain appeared in the Republic of Korea in January last year before spreading to the People’s Republic of China and Japan and, more recently, to three countries in Europe. Although the outbreaks of this new virus have so far been rapidly controlled by the sanitary authorities, there are important economic repercussions for the poultry sector.
In recent decades, the impact of the globalization of movements of animals, people and commercial products has greatly increased the possibilities for pathogens to spread from one side of the world to the other in record time. Yet the recent discovery of virus H5N8 in Europe serves as a reminder to the international community that a simple natural phenomenon such as migratory movements of wild birds can also cause the worldwide dissemination of a disease.
With 75 percent of human emerging diseases being derived from pathogens transmitted by animals, whether domestic or wild, public health protection is inextricably linked to the preservation of animal health. Transmission of the Ebola virus from a wild animal to a human, followed, by human-to-human transmission on a massive scale is a tragic example.
In this context, the OIE has issued a reminder that poor management of disease control at source in animals - irrespective of whether diseases are potentially transmissible to humans - can have consequences that are often severe for the local population and economy, and even at a regional and global level.
The existence of competent, well-organized national veterinary services, irrespective of a country’s level of development, is a precondition for early detection of animal disease outbreaks and a rapid, transparent response, the OIE says. 

Microbiota plays major role in long-term animal health

On the eve of Eurotier, speakers at Nukamel’s Intestinal Health roadshow focused on the importance of developing animal immunity and gut health early in life to ensure its long-term performance.
Regardless of species, there are many environmental and physiological influencing an animal’s ability to fight off disease; however, specialized feeding solutions can pay off in strengthening its immunity to pathogens and ultimately increasing its output. 
Early microbiota cultivation supports immunity
Microbiota prevents the penetration of pathogens under the epithelial layer of the gut; it also aids in producing the preferred and appropriate immune response. The panel of four researchers from Europe and the United States agreed that the manipulation of the gut’s microbial composition during the first days of life will produce either beneficial or detrimental outcomes for the animal further down the road. 
For example, if antibiotics are introduced too early, it will have a negative effect on the development of the microbiota well beyond initial the exposure. According to Dr. Robert Corbett, president of Dairy Health Consultation, the microflora of young animals exposed to antibiotics takes longer to replenish and actually delays the animal’s recovery.
Similarly, the swine industry has neglected to pay attention to the critical pre-weaning stage to develop the strength of a piglet’s digestive tract.
“The gut is very complex and serves a variety of functions,” says Dr. Alfons Jansman, senior scientist – animal nutrition, Wageningen UR Livestock Research. “We need more fundamental knowledge of these systems and should shape intestinal microbiota and microflora prior to weaning in suckling piglets – which would be new way of thinking.”
In Jansman’s opinion, producers must support the various aspect of the immune system, such as its barrier function to prevent allergic reactions and other inclement conditions, suggesting that producers not downgrade the importance of immunity to improve FCR and growth. 
As such, the immune system must be ready to react if needed, so “it’s important to improve the nutrition status of the animal and meet its requirements in volume and nutrient composition.” 
Leaky gut poses major challenge
According to Professor Richard Ducatelle from the University of Ghent, today’s animals have the genetic capacity to achieve a high-level of performance, but “the challenge lies with nutrition, which needs to catch up and to get the best out of the animals.” 
This can be achieved with a diet that meets the animal’s demands, but this strategy can backfire if the animal is ill. Leaky gut, for example, will be one of the biggest challenges for poultry producers in the years to come.
Leaky gut, a condition where body fluids leak into lumen and make feces more liquid, “must be avoided by all means.”
“The thickness of the intestinal wall is determined by thickness of intestinal layer,” he says. “It should be thick because the mucosa should have a contractual power – if it’s weak, digestion is less effective. There are more immune cells in the gut than any other portion of the body. Immune suppression or immune stimulation is a controversial topic.”
In his opinion, the nutritionist should aim to move from a reactive position -- from a state of defense to one of absorption -- by improving the animal’s oral tolerance through proper nutrition.
Additives influence health
Antioxidants play an important role in reducing inflammation, which is one of the leading causes of death in animals.
“We can help the animal though nutrients, but also by giving it anti-oxidative power,” Ducatelle suggests.
Depending on the maturation of the mucosa, overdosing organic acids can have a detrimental effect on the intestinal health of a young animal. In addition, high-quality colostrum also affects an animal’s gene expression and plays an important role in building the health of young animals.
“Environment and nutrition play an important role in how the animal develops, but there are other influences which influence its genetic disposition for disease,” Jansman notes, pointing to gut health as the source of prolonged health and performance. 
According to Nukamel’s managing director Jan Druyts, the proper nutrition of young animals favors a gradual building up of the microbial population of the gut: “In commercial husbandry, animals are fed intensively and perform at the maximum of their potential. The balance between oral tolerance and immune stimulation – and overstimulation – is of utmost importance. The base for this is established in the gut in the early stages of life; therefore, investing in high-quality feeding of young animals pays off in the later stages of life.”
Hanover was the third and final stop on Nukamel’s Intestinal Health World Tour. Two additional events, one on Chile and the other in Bangkok, were held earlier this year. 2014 marks the company’s 60^th anniversary. 
Eurotier will be held in Hanover, Germany, on November 11-14.

OIE global network commits to future animal health challenges

More than 200 international experts of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) scientific network of expertise, representing the 296 OIE reference centers from all around the world, reaffirmed their commitment to constantly disseminate new relevant scientific information to the OIE, and support the scientific accuracy and robustness of OIE publications through contributions or peer reviews. The commitment was made during an OIE global conference, held October 14-16 in Seoul, Korea.
“The need for scientific expertise and advice is constantly increasing and so is the reliance to our network of excellence unique in the world”, highlights Dr. Bernard Vallat, OIE director general.
In addition to further fostering the networking of the OIE reference centers, the conference also focused on new tools for the advancement and exchange of knowledge necessary  strengthen diagnostic capacities worldwide and continuously  improve the response  to current and future sanitary threats. In this context, the conference launched a new strategy on a global pathogen genotype platform as well as a new mechanism for the timely diffusion of new disease detection and control methods to the OIE’s 180 member countries.
The OIE global network of expertise, which has grown considerably stronger over the years, supports - on a voluntary and free of charge basis - the development and the excellence of animal health sciences, animal welfare standards and veterinary public health services. It ensures the scientific foundation of the standards and guidelines adopted by OIE member countries and recognized as intergovernmental references for disease control methods and animal welfare throughout the world.
To date, this OIE global network includes 247 reference laboratories, covering 117 diseases in 38 countries and 49 collaborating centers, covering 46 topics in 26 countries. These institutes are selected by the relevant elected specialist commissions of the OIE according to their scientific excellence and then proposed for adoption by the World Assembly of OIE Delegates.
“Strengthening national veterinary laboratory capacities, and thereby reinforcing the veterinary scientific community is key to face the challenges of the future,” said Vallat. “That’s why since 2006, the OIE has developed a laboratory twinning program between existing OIE reference laboratories or collaborating centers and candidate laboratories. This program allows more member countries to provide reference centers to the OIE network and to develop more appropriate laboratory diagnostic methods worldwide”.
The OIE also supports national veterinary laboratories through the performance of veterinary services (PVS) pathway component dedicated to national laboratories and through a capacity building global program for OIE national focal points for laboratories.

Dutch ag consortium Grupo AgriMex-Holanda formed

Dutch agricultural consortium Grupo AgriMex-Holanda has been formalized with the signing of a three-year covenant between the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency and eleven Dutch companies. With its main objective to actively participate in delivering sustainable production and animal health to the Mexican market, Grupo Agrimex-Holanda will invest around EUR1 million (US$1.35 million) collectively. The consortium will initially have a special focus on the Mexican poultry sector.
Member companies of Grupo AgriMex-Holanda are dedicated to different animal production sectors, from breeding technologies, feed, housing and transportation to manure management, water and waste management. The companies involved in the AgriMex-Holanda consortium are: PTC+;Schothorst Feed Research, Ottevanger Milling Engineers BV, Walinga Inc., Dutrion North America Ltd., Dorset Green Machines, Twinpack BV, Vencomatic Group, Pas Reform Hatchery Technologies, Excentials/Orffa and Marel Stork Poultry Processing.
With a large domestic market and rapidly growing exports, Mexico can offer plenty of  diverse opportunities for animal production companies from the Netherlands, particularly in the production of poultry, eggs and pigs. Grupo AgriMex-Holanda formalizes a sustained and collaborative effort to bring the Dutch expertise and technology to the fore in Mexican animal production and especially in the poultry production sector.

Ceva reshapes capital structure with new investor

Animal health company Ceva is reshaping its capital structure through a new round of financing that strengthens its position as a majority shareholder, while welcoming a new investor to support the group in a new phase of development. The reshaped capital structure will support Ceva’s ambition to become the first independent player within the top 5 global animal health companies by 2020, the company stated.
Temasek, an investment company based in Singapore, will become a new Ceva investor, and will be joined by Ceva’s French and international financial investors. French partners Euromezzanine and Sagard, which are historical partners of the group, will reinvest significantly in Ceva, as well as CDH Investments, the pioneering China-based fund.
“I’m delighted that we have been able to bring together this diversified consortium of strong and committed investors,” said Marc Prikaszsky, Ceva CEO. “As we are making progress through the implementation of our 2020 ambition plan, it was essential to select partners who share our vision and can actively contribute to its achievement. We are grateful for the confidence that our financial partners – new and old – have placed in us and I know that the committed and talented team we have at Ceva will ensure that we achieve success – together.”

FAO and OIE boost collaboration on animal health

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) pledged to step up their existing collaboration to control animal disease, ensure the safety of food from animal origin and promote safe trade. The two organizations said they would reinforce their partnership in priority areas that include joint response to animal health crises and programs to prevent and control foot-and-mouth disease, peste des petits ruminants (PPR), African swine fever (ASF), rabies, zoonotic influenza and antimicrobial resistance.
In cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), FAO and OIE plan to focus on monitoring the responsible use of antimicrobial and pharmaceutical products. They will also work to strengthen national veterinary systems.
Speaking at the World Assembly of Delegates to the OIE in Paris, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said animal health was of "paramount importance" in the work of the organization to eliminate hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
"We are committed to tackling high-impact animal diseases together with OIE, WHO and regional and national partners,” Graziano da Silva said. 
FAO and OIE already have a number of joint initiatives including the FAO/OIE Crisis Management Centre – Animal Health, which provides rapid response during animal disease emergencies, and OFFLU, the network of expertise on animal influenza. The organizations have worked together on issues such as the prevention, detection and control of H5N1 avian influenza, and notched up a major success in 2011 with the global eradication of the deadly cattle virus that caused rinderpest.
“OIE and FAO’s longstanding collaboration has proved its efficiency in the prevention and control of numerous animal diseases worldwide,” said OIE Director General Bernard Vallat.
“Our common actions play a key role in the reduction of poverty and hunger. Convinced of the need to pursue this great collaboration, and to constantly reinforce its efficiency, OIE and FAO have agreed to reinforce their cooperation arrangement.”