GREENFIELD — Greenfield-based Elanco Animal Health has penned a deal to buy eight new vaccine-product lines and a fully integrated manufacturing, research and development site from a German-based animal health corporation for $885 million, its parent company Eli Lilly and Co. announced Wednesday.
The agreement gives Elanco, headquartered in Progress Park on the north side of Greenfield, control of Boehringer Ingelheim International’s U.S. feline, canine and rabies vaccines portfolio, as well as related manufacturing, research and development, officials said.
The acquisition adds vaccines for bordetella, Lyme disease, rabies and parvovirus to Elanco’s U.S. product line. In addition, Elanco will take control of a Boehringer Ingelheim factory in Fort Dodge, Iowa, where the vaccines are made, as well as all equipment and testing capabilities, including a veterinary research center and lab space, according to a news release.
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Keri McGrath, a spokeswoman for Elanco, said it’s too soon to speculate what impact the acquisition will have the company’s headquarters in Greenfield. But Elanco’s leaders anticipate increasing their current vaccines research capabilities thanks to the addition of knowledgeable and experienced personnel from the Boehringer Ingelheim company.
“Vaccines are a high priority for Elanco, and this acquisition fits our strategy of developing a balanced portfolio, addressing both prevention and treatment of disease,” McGrath said.
The deal is a required step toward the future acquisition of international animal health company Merial by Boehringer Ingelheim, officials said.
Elanco’s Greenfield roots stretch back to 1954, when Lilly still occupied the campus on U.S. 40. Lilly sold the facility to Covance in 2007, leaving Elanco to find a new home.
It was then that Lilly began investing heavily in its animal health division, setting it up for exponential growth; in 2010, Elanco built a 130,000-square-foot world headquarters on the northwest corner of Ind. 9 and Interstate 70. Since then, the company has expanded the facility twice, most recently adding a new laboratory that opened earlier this year to develop vaccines for food-borne illnesses and to research alternatives for antibiotics used in food animals.
Elanco traditionally has focused on livestock products, but in recent years, the company has been entering new markets, officials said.
The deal with Boehringer Ingelheim is Elanco’s 10th acquisition since 2007, when the company announced it would focus on products for companion animals. In the following near decade, Elanco purchased four companies to expand its reach in the animal pharmaceuticals business.
Experts said it will buttress Elanco’s presence in the pet segment of animal health, which is enjoying robust growth.
Future Market Insights reported this month that pet health is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 4.9 percent globally from 2015 to 2025, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal.
“We understand the unique bond that owners share with pets and are committed to helping those pets live longer, healthier lives,” Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco, said in a news release. “With a growing portfolio addressing both prevention and treatment of disease, Elanco can partner with veterinarians and pet caregivers to do just that.”
Hancock Economic Development Corporation director Skip Kuker was excited to hear Elanco is growing its company. He wonders whether the company’s latest acquisition could lead to another facility expansion but said he hasn’t heard from Elanco officials.
“Any time a company expands their portfolio and diversifies and gets into a new market, it always makes the company potentially stronger,” Kuker said. “They’re bringing expertise to the market. … I’m glad the growth continues to happen in our community.”
The Boehringer Ingelheim acquisition is anticipated to close by early 2017, subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission and antitrust approval and closing of Boehringer Ingelheim’s asset swap transaction with Sanofi, officials said.
