Merck Animal Health receives two prestigious awards from Animal Pharm

Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health, received the 2020 Visionary/CEO award, for his vision and leadership of the company’s animal health business.

Richard DeLuca, President, Merck Animal Health

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, received two prestigious awards from Animal Pharm, the most widely read publication reporting on the animal health industry. Richard DeLuca was recognized with the 2020 Visionary/CEO award and NOBILIS® SALENVAC® ETC was awarded with the 2020 Best New Food Animal Product award.

DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health, received the 2020 Visionary/CEO award, for his vision and leadership of the company’s animal health business over the past seven years, creating a company that continues to have robust growth with a strong and growing global presence.

“What makes the animal health industry unique is the ability to offer customers – veterinarians, farmers, producers and pet owners – with the products, services and solutions to help, improve or enhance health outcomes and the well-being of animals,” said DeLuca in receiving the honor. “While I am humbled by this recognition, I truly appreciate that we would not be where we are today without the great people of Merck Animal Health.”

Merck Animal Health receives two prestigious awards from Animal PharmDeLuca has shaped the company by providing a strong foundation of growth for people, early-stage development and partnership opportunities and investing in research and development, geographic expansion, new capacity and capabilities and manufacturing excellence. His focus has been on consistent profitable business growth through meaningful innovation, complementary business development and in-house R&D development and, most importantly, the development and growth of people.

NOBILIS SALENVAC ETC for poultry received the 2020 Best New Food Animal Product award. It is an inactivated, intramuscular, two-dose trivalent Salmonella vaccine, which offers the broadest protection for layers and breeders against three different Salmonella serogroups (B-C-D). This vaccine, the first registered and launched in the European Union in 2020, was developed based on the need for broad Salmonella food safety control in poultry farms.

“Our poultry portfolio of vaccines, health management solutions and value-added services continues to be strengthened with many notable scientific and commercial breakthroughs,” said KJ Varma, BVSc, PhD, senior vice president, Research and Development, Merck Animal Health. “Salmonellosis is one of the most frequently reported zoonotic diseases in humans with poultry meat and eggs often identified as a potential source of infection. Extensive efforts from our research and development team went into this technology, as it is the third-generation vaccine within the company’s SALENVAC range, built upon a proven scientific platform.”

“We expect this newly launched product will become a mainstay in the fight against Salmonella food safety infections in the poultry industry and will positively impact an environment where food safety, animal welfare and well-being, as well as responsible use of antibiotics is of increasing importance,” said Taylor Barbosa, executive director, Global Marketing, Poultry, Merck Animal Health. “Addressing this significant OneHealth issue is critically important to both poultry and human health. It helps protect poultry health and advances a safe food supply.”

The Best New Food Animal Product award is also the third year in a row that technology from Merck Animal Health’s vaccine portfolio has won this award. “It is a true testament to our R&D organization,” said Dr. Varma. Last year, the company accepted this honor for PORCILIS® Lawsonia vaccine for piglets, the first, inactivated, one-dose, lyophilized (freeze-dried) intramuscular bacterial vaccine for piglets from three weeks of age against Lawsonia intracellularis. The year before, the company won the award for the IDAL® family of devices as the ideal solution for implementing needle-free vaccination on the farm.