Bayer to invest in NZ animal health product development

• Southern hemisphere regional product development hub to be based in Auckland
• Focus on livestock health
• Connel McLaren to head new business

Auckland, New Zealand, 22 February, 2011 – Following the successful acquisition of the New Zealand owned Bomac Group of companies, German healthcare company Bayer plans to invest significantly in New Zealand based animal health product development and production.

Although the finer details are still being worked through, Bomac’s existing facilities in Auckland will become a new regional animal health product development centre - the third such Bayer facility in the world, after Germany and the USA.

The main target areas for product development are mastitis, sheep and cattle parasiticides, bovine reproduction and new swine products aimed at markets in the southern hemisphere.

Bayer Animal Health regional head Dr Alexander Jahn, says the company sees huge benefits in investing in New Zealand.

“One of the main reasons we acquired Bomac was its reputation for innovation and speed at getting new products to market. Now that Bomac is part of the Bayer group we have started planning how to expand this product development base.”

“The fact that 60 Bayer Animal Health managers and specialists from 25 countries met in Auckland last week reflects the importance of the development work being done in New Zealand.”

While investment planning continues, an integration project is currently underway to merge Bomac into the Bayer Animal Health division in New Zealand.

“Merging the two businesses together is a challenging task and we want to do this as efficiently as possible without any disruption to customer service,” says Dr Jahn.

“We have established an integration team made up of Bomac and Bayer employees who are working together to bring the two groups into alignment. All going well, this will be completed by the end of 2011.”

With its plans firmly set on expanding its animal health business in New Zealand, Bayer has announced that former Bomac managing director Connel McLaren will head up its New Zealand animal health operations.

“This is an exciting time for the animal health industry in New Zealand, so I am of course delighted to see the new product development commitment become a reality. Universities, clinicians and field researchers should all benefit from this new investment,” says Mr McLaren.

“This continuing commitment to New Zealand based innovation will also benefit our local farmers and customers as they will be the first to use many of the new products that become available.”

Bomac was New Zealand’s largest privately-owned animal health company and became part of the Bayer Group of companies in early January 2011. The merger of the two companies is seen as a perfect fit due to complementary product portfolios and a shared culture based on innovation.

About Bomac
Founded in 1958 Bomac was New Zealand’s largest privately owned dedicated animal health company before being acquired by Bayer AG in January 2011.
Operating from modern GMP facilities in Auckland the company manufactures more than 290 production animal, equine and companion animal products for sale in New Zealand and to over 60 countries worldwide.
A significant commitment to R&D has seen Bomac average over 20 new product approvals per year in New Zealand since 2007. These include innovative mastitis and reproduction products, injectable solutions and suspensions, intra-ruminal devices, and sheep, cattle and equine parasiticides.
This enviable track record of new products and delivery systems has underpinned the company’s continued growth as Bomac and its 200 staff in New Zealand and Australia strive to be “First for Animal Health”. For more information visit www.bomac.co.nz.

About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of healthcare, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subsidiary of Bayer AG, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Bayer Schering Pharma, Consumer Care and Medical Care divisions. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide.
Employing some 106,000 people worldwide, and nearly 1,000 in Australia and New Zealand, the Bayer Group has a portfolio of over 10,000 products and operations in nearly all countries of the globe. Worldwide operations are managed from Group headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany.

With a turnover of EUR977 million (2009) Bayer HealthCare’s Animal Health Division is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of veterinary drugs. The division manufactures and markets more than 100 different veterinary drugs and care products for livestock and companion animals.

For more information on Bayer visit www.bayer.co.nz

ENDS

© Scoop Media