People throughout the world have close relationships with their pets, which are often treated as part of the family and keep their owners company into old age. Farm animals are suppliers of food, on which high demands are made in terms of quality. Our aim is to protect and preserve the health of animals with our products. We know the needs of our customers – whether veterinarians, pet owners or farmers.
The role animals play in our lives is growing in significance, and as humans and animals live closer together, it has also become more necessary to protect humans from the transmission of disease pathogens. Bayer has secured a leadership position in researching and developing products for animal health and pest control since 1919, and we are constantly developing new, better products and improved forms of administration for the benefit of the animals in our lives.
Driven by an increasing world population and higher incomes, the animal health market remains very attractive. In the companion animals segment, we are benefiting from growing pet ownership rates. In the farm animals segment, moreover, the aspiration to adopt Western lifestyle habits is leading to higher meat consumption.
In the companion animals business, Animal Health has a strong position in the field of parasiticides. To safeguard and further expand this position, we are focusing on maintaining the strong performance of the Seresto™ collar, opening up new distribution channels and leveraging the brand equity of the Advantage™ product family.
In the farm animals business, we are focusing on parasiticides and anti-infectives for the treatment of infectious diseases. We are striving to develop new options for the prevention and treatment of diseases in livestock. Additionally, we strengthened our antiparasitics business in the United States with the acquisition in January 2017 of the Cydectin™ endectocide portfolio.
In 2019, we received more than 100 new marketing authorizations worldwide through product innovations, approval extensions and the geographic expansion of our existing product portfolio. New product launches included Advantix XXL™, a new application size from our Advantage™ range of products for the treatment of very large dogs with just one single dose, and Viper™, a novel louse control product with increased efficacy for sheep which was registered in Australia.
Animal Health also reinforces its business by continually identifying further product development candidates through new and existing collaborations. In 2018, for example, global license agreements were concluded with Mitsui Chemicals Agro, Inc. (MCAG) and NeuroCycle Therapeutics to strengthen the portfolio. In addition, 2019 marked the beginning of R&D collaboration agreements with adivo, Nutreco, and VLPbio. We work closely with our partners in areas such as the development of innovative technologies, application innovations and lead structure optimizations.