EUROPEAN Porcine Circovirus (PCV-2) Annual Research Award launched by Boehringer Ingelheim

Today, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health announced the launch of the European PCV-2 Award, which recognizes excellent research proposals in the area of applied immunological PCV-2 research. In total, the winners will be awarded with 75,000 Euro, three prizes of 25,000 € each will be granted to those European researchers that suggest innovative approaches in the field of swine immunology to explore Porcine Circovirus Diseases (PCVD) or PCV–2 associated diseases. With the European award Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health complements its American Annual PCV Associated Diseases Research Award Program launched in 2006 and aims to promote further scientific progress to better understand a serious disease which causes significant losses in pig farms.

Research Proposals that suggest innovative approaches in the field of vaccine immunity, maternal immunity or interaction of PCV-2 with other potential pathogens are eligible.

The European PCV-2 Award has an independent judging panel with Europe’s leading scientists in applied porcine research reviewing the entries and deciding upon the winning proposal*. The panel is chaired by Professor Maurice Pensaert from the Laboratory of Veterinary Virology at the University of Ghent in Belgium.

For the 2007 European PCV-2 Award research proposals shall be submitted in writing by September 15, 2007 including a one page CV of the researcher. Applications can be submitted via email to Maurice.pensaert@ugent.be or to Webmaster-AnimalHealth@ing.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

PCVD is currently estimated to cost European pig producers in excess of 600 million euro per year and is considered a serious threat to pig production. PCVD is therefore one of the most significant pig diseases in the world, causing tremendous economic losses to all producers worldwide and is said to exceed damages by any other pig disease.

Researchers in the USA can submit entries to the American Annual PCV Associated Diseases Research Award Program, a similar annual award sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health which has been launched in North America in June 2006. In 2004 and 2005, PCVD started to affect US and Canadian farms and extremely high mortality rates due to PCV-2 were reported.

*The independent judging panel of the European Boehringer Ingelheim annual PCV-2 Research Award

Prof. em. Dr. Maurice Pensaert,
Laboratory of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium, (CHAIR)
Dr. Francois Madec,
French Agency for Food Sanitary Safety (AFSSA), Ploufragan, France
Prof. Stanley Done,
Visiting Professor of Veterinary Pathology, University of Glasgow, and SVIO, Veterinary Laboratories, Agency, Thirsk, UK
Prof. Paolo Martelli,
Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
Dr. Poul Bækbo,
The National Committee for Pig Production, Danish Bacon and Meat Council, Denmark
Dr. Mathias Ritzmann,
Clinic of Swine Diseases, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica belong to the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies. The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 137 affiliates in 47 countries and 38,400 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2006, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 10.6 billion euro while spending one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.

The animal health business is conducted in more than 20 countries including USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Mexico, the Nordic countries Japan and China. Since 1955, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health is contributing to an adequate supply of safe, nutritious food and is promoting the emotional and physical benefits arising from the human-animal bond.