Boehringer Ingelheim Announces 2008 PRRS Research Award Recipients

New research efforts focus on lateral infection, ventilation factors and biosecurity

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (March 11, 2008) – Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc., (BIVI) announces the recipients of its 2008 Advancement in PRRS Research Awards. This year’s selected research programs focus on evaluating the lateral infection of pigs with attenuated porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome (PRRS) virus; assessing different finishing barn ventilation systems and risk factors; and evaluating biosecurity measures for warm weather.

Each year BIVI awards $75,000 to support three separate studies by independent swine researchers and practitioners in their investigation of new ways to diagnose, control and eradicate this costly swine disease. This is the sixth year that BIVI has sponsored the PRRS research awards, which have been critical in improving the industry’s understanding of the disease.

The following are the 2008 research award recipients and their research proposals recognized at the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) Conference in San Diego, California:

• Dr. Jim Lowe
  Carthage Veterinary Service, Carthage, Ill.
  Reduction in economic losses due to lateral infection with PRRS virus in growing pigs in swine dense areas through infection with attenuated PRRS virus at placement.



• Dr. Paul Yeske
  Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, Minn.
  Does finishing barn ventilation type (curtain sided vs. tunnel) result in a greater risk factor for naïve herds to break with PRRS virus in the finishing phase?



• Dr. Scott Dee
  University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.
  An evaluation of PRRS virus aerosol biosecurity programs for warm weather.

Kerry Keffaber, DVM, AASV president-elect and PRRS Research Review Board member, says, “PRRS continues to be a very costly and frustrating disease for producers. Through sponsored research programs, we can find ways to improve current management programs and take the necessary steps toward eradicating this disease.”

Keffaber also points out that these types of programs place a greater importance on the industry as a whole to improve the existing monitoring, diagnostic and detection processes.

The independent PRRS Research Review Board conducted a rigorous evaluation of a number of submitted proposals. The three studies were selected based on established criteria that include potential for economic impact to the swine industry; originality and scientific quality; and probability of success in completing the study.

Proposal entries for the 2009 Advancement in PRRS Research Awards are due Jan. 1, 2009. For more information visit www.PRRSresearch.com.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (St. Joseph, Mo.), is a subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation based in Ridgefield, Conn., and a member of the Boehringer Ingelheim group of companies.

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 137 affiliates in 47 countries and approximately 38,400 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2006, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of US $13.3 billion (10.6 billion euro) while spending approximately one-fifth of net sales in its largest business segment, Prescription Medicines, on research and development.

For more information, please visit: www.bi-vetmedica.com.