CARROS, FRANCE -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/31/2006 -- This is a first in the battle against rabies, a curse that continues to kill more than 50,000 people every year worldwide: on March 8th, pharmaceutical company Virbac was granted Marketing Authorization in India for the SAG2 strain in the form of an oral bait vaccine for stray dogs, the main carriers of rabies in India and a number of countries in Africa, Asia and Central America. The collaboration between Virbac, the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) was a determining factor in this authorization. In India, this vaccine will help to reduce the number of fatal cases in humans, which currently stands at 30,000 per year.
Optimal safety and efficacy. The vaccine Virbac is offering has proven in India to be safe and effective. The bait developed by Virbac makes vaccination all the more easy: as the bait is appetizing to dogs, it is easily ingested and the animal is vaccinated by oral route. The vaccination's specific formulation enables easy use in hot countries.
Supervised vaccination plan. In India, Virbac plans to distribute the bait through State programmes (both in urban and rural areas) and private programmes (international or local NGOs) with operational support from the WHO and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Besides their essential impact on public health, these programmes will have positive economic effect, by reducing rabies-related herd losses caused by dog bites.
For Virbac, a global pharmaceutical company devoted exclusively to animal health, the project in India is an extension of the rabies work it already conducts in Europe using the SAG2 strain.
About Virbac SA
Founded in 1968 in Carros, near Nice (France), Virbac devotes its work exclusively to animal health and is currently the world's ninth largest veterinary pharmaceutical company. Its extensive range of vaccines and drugs enables the prevention and treatment of the main diseases affecting companion and food producing animals.
Its products are marketed in over 100 countries and the company has 2,230 employees. Virbac has been listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange since 1985.