Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to joining forces in the global fight against rabies

Ingelheim, Germany, 28 September 2018 – Today is World Rabies Day, and Boehringer Ingelheim, the world’s leading provider of veterinary rabies vaccines², is joining forces with veterinarians, pet owners, NGOs and governmental organizations across the globe to raise awareness of necessary rabies prevention practices. The company’s goal is to bring attention to the serious threat that rabies still poses to animals and humans in many parts of the world.

Rabies is endemic in more than 150 countries and regions¹, especially in Asia and Africa. Worldwide, an estimated 160 people die from rabies every day, 40 per cent of whom are children¹. The global economic burden from rabies reaches 8.6 billion USD annually¹; however, with a proper vaccination strategy and investment, rabies is for certain a preventable disease¹. Unvaccinated dogs remain the main source of human rabies infection globally, and according to the World Health Organization, by vaccinating at least 70 per cent of the world’s dog population, human deaths due to rabies could be eliminated¹.

World Rabies Day was launched on 28 September 2007, commemorating the death of Louis Pasteur who created the first rabies vaccine and laid the foundations of rabies prevention. Every year, on this day, the world unites to bring awareness to the fight against rabies and the suffering it causes.

Professor Louis Nel, Chief Executive of the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, which coordinates World Rabies Day, commented: “Vaccinating animals saves lives. Global elimination of rabies is possible. This year’s theme, Share the message. Save a life., reflects the fundamental principle that awareness of rabies prevention can go far towards saving lives of people and animals.”

“Boehringer Ingelheim joins forces with partners around the world towards the elimination of rabies and advocates in the public health realm to reduce the global impact of rabies. Rabies elimination is possible, we can all play a role,” shared Jacques Bonin, DVM, Head of Veterinary Public Health at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Sophie Randoux, DVM, Head of Pet Vaccines Strategic Business Unit at Boehringer Ingelheim echoed his views: “Boehringer Ingelheim puts every effort into supporting veterinarians in their key role in rabies prevention, offering a comprehensive and innovative range of rabies vaccines for dogs and cats and contributing in pet owners’ education.”

Committed to the global effort of eliminating rabies, Boehringer Ingelheim brings a holistic approach that combines public education and vaccination of pets, wildlife and livestock to prevent this fatal disease, and ultimately protect lives.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Improving the health and quality of life of patients is the goal of the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The focus in doing so is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives. In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim stands for advanced prevention.

Family-owned since it was established in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies. Some 50,000 employees create value through innovation daily for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceuticals. In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of nearly 18.1 billion euros. R&D expenditure, exceeding three billion euros, corresponded to 17.0 per cent of net sales.

As a family-owned company, Boehringer Ingelheim plans in generations and focuses on long-term success, rather than short-term profit. The company therefore aims at organic growth from its own resources with simultaneous openness to partnerships and strategic alliances in research. In everything it does, Boehringer Ingelheim naturally adopts responsibility towards mankind and the environment.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business Unit
Boehringer Ingelheim is the second largest animal health business in the world. We are committed to creating animal wellbeing through our large portfolio of advanced, preventive healthcare products and services. With net sales of 3.9 billion euros and around 10,000 employees worldwide, we are present in more than 150 markets. For more information click here.

About rabies
Around 59,000 people die from rabies annually, with over 95 per cent of these deaths occurring in Africa and Asia, as a result of being bitten by an infected dog. Up to 40 per cent of all dog bites and rabies deaths occur in children under 15 years of age.

Dogs are major victims of the disease too; millions are killed every year as a result of mass culling through misguided attempts to curb the disease.

Rabies is 99.9 per cent fatal, but it is also 100 per cent preventable. Eliminating the disease by vaccinating dogs protects them and stops transmission to people. But despite the existence of effective, relatively low-cost solutions to control animal rabies, people and animals are still dying.

About World Rabies Day
World Rabies Day, held on 28 September every year, was initiated by GARC in 2007 to create a global opportunity for people to unite in rabies prevention. Since then, it has grown year on year, with hundreds of thousands of people organizing and participating in local, regional and national events, on or around 28 September - and at other times of year too.

About Global Alliance for Rabies Control
The Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) is a leading non-profit organization that aims to eliminate deaths from canine rabies by 2030, by working with governments, veterinary, public health and educational experts and communities to facilitate policy change and build capacity to eliminate rabies in areas hardest hit by the disease.

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Intended audiences:
This press release is issued from our Corporate Headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved products may vary from country to country, and a country-specific press release on this topic may have been issued in the countries where we do business.