Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health continues support of independent PCV2 research

Ingelheim, Germany, 24 February 2015 – Since 2007, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health has funded independent European research projects related to Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) infection and associated diseases. Over the past eight years, 23 research projects have been awarded with 25,000 euro each. To date, the company has supported independent PCV2 research with 575,000 euro in total.

More than 30 European scientists joined the award ceremony, which took place at the Boehringer Ingelheim Headquarter in Ingelheim, Germany. The 2014 European PCV2 research awards were granted to the laureates by the head of the review board, Prof. Maurice Pensaert, former head of the Laboratory of Virology of Ghent University in Belgium. In the 8th edition the independent review board selected the following projects to be awarded:

• Assessment of the impact of PCV2 infection on hepatitis E virus shedding in experimentally co-infected SPF pigs. (Nicolas Rose, France)
• Simultaneous application of Ingelvac^® CircoFLEX and Ingelvac^® PRRSV MLV improves the efficacy of PRRSV vaccination. (Armin Saalmüller, Wilhelm Gerner, Hanna C. Koinig, Austria)
• Within host variability and evolution model of Porcine Circovirus 2. (Tuija Kekarainen, Spain)

European Porcine Circovirus (PCV2) Research Award
Boehringer Ingelheim continuously supports independent applied research in the field of PCV2 immunity, pathogenesis, epidemiology and interaction with other (potential) pathogens. The European PCV2 Research Award is an annual award that recognizes research proposals in this area of applied PCV2 research. An independent review board with leading European scientists in applied porcine research reviews the entries and decides upon the winning proposals. A maximum of three prizes, each worth 25,000 euro, are granted to European researchers every year, in order to advance scientific knowledge in the area of PCV2 research.

How to apply
Applications for the next European PCV2 Research Award can be submitted by September 14, 2015. For more details please contact maurice.pensaert@ugent.be or bernd.grosse_liesner@boehringer-ingelheim.com.

Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, Boehringer Ingelheim operates globally with 142 affiliates and a total of more than 47,400 employees. The focus of the family-owned company, founded in 1885, is researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing new medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

Taking social responsibility is an important element of the corporate culture at Boehringer Ingelheim. This includes worldwide involvement in social projects, such as the initiative "Making more Health" and caring for the employees. Respect, equal opportunities and reconciling career and family form the foundation of the mutual cooperation. In everything it does, the company focuses on environmental protection and sustainability.

In 2013, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 14.1 billion euros. R&D expenditure corresponds to 19.5% of its net sales.