Annual report 2 017 - Ceva India · and artificial intelligence. As a result, we implemented the Quantum program, ... producers, veterinarians, social scientists and two former ministers

Ceva Annual Report 2017 1

Annual report 2017

Together, beyond animal health

2 Ceva Annual Report 2017

EditorialCeva in 2017Together, beyond animal healthFinancial report

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Summary

Froment du Léon cattle, winner of the French national prize awarded by Ceva and the Fondation du Patrimoine.

Ceva Annual Report 2017 3 Ceva Annual Report 2017 3


a breakthrough year, better serving our customers and their animalsThe year 2017 will be an outstanding one in Ceva’s history: it was the year our sales broke the symbolic €1 billion barrier, confirming our position as the sixth largest animal health company in the world. This step was more than simply symbolic: the company’s performance this year proved the robustness of our business model and opened up new horizons by increasing our investment capacity.

Ceva’s business grew by 20% overall, with two-thirds of this growth attributable to our acquisition of a number of companies in 2016: Hertape Inovo, Brazil, Polchem, India, Biovac, France and Ebvac in China, as well as the purchase of a number of ex-Merial products.

This included a number of swine vaccines - Circovac®, Parvoruvax®, Parvovax® and Progressis®, which reinforced our existing range, allowing us to build on the experience we have acquired in vaccinology, especially in poultry.

The fact that these acquisitions were able to bear fruit in 2017 was largely thanks to the commitment of our teams, which allowed us to successfully integrate more

than 1,000 new colleagues. I am particularly proud of our knowhow and work in achieving this .

Nevertheless, these good results were also driven by organic growth, achieving an historic 9% increase (at constant scope and exchange rates).

To round off these excellent results, our operating profit rose by 30%, as we worked together on a number of projects designed to improve our business efficiency.

Our 2017 result was particularly pleasing as we posted good results across the company: our 4 species teams, 2 pharmaceutical and biological units, R&D, industrial and logistics teams and geographical regions, all worked together to achieve this.

Editorial

2017



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As in previous years, we also launched a number of innovative new products:

FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY®, designed to control unwanted cat scratching.

Zeleris®, which successfully combines an antibiotic not used in human medicine with an anti-inflam-matory, for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease and pain management.

Circovac®, which protects piglets from the PCV2 virus, one of the most important diseases affecting swine. This product is marketed in synergy with Hyogen®, a vaccine against mycoplasma infections, developed by our own teams. We were pleased to see the completion of the registration of Circovac® in China, by far the world’s largest swine market.

It was a year that saw our biggest products continue to make progress throughout the world. 15 of them, compared to 12 last year, have now passed the threshold of €10 million in sales.

Ultimately 2017 illustrates our constant focus on finding new ways to meet our customers’ expectations, while also working to improve the quality of our services.

This is what prompted us to have our hatchery vaccination program, the C.H.I.C.K program, independently, quality approved by Bureau Veritas, a global leader in Testing, Inspection and Certification.

It was also the basis for our significant investments in our industrial facilities, with the aim of improving efficiency in three ways: industrial performance,

6N°

billion €1.1 +1000 +20 %

global company sales new employees worldwide growth


employee workplace well-being and respect for the environment.

The world is changing very rapidly. It is changing in a technological sense, with the advent of big data and artificial intelligence. As a result, we implemented the Quantum program, designed to expand and secure the management of our data, so as to optimize decision-making processes.

The world is also changing ethically, with growing concern for the welfare of animals. That’s an issue that has always been of the greatest importance to us, as evidenced by:

Our co-founding and support of the World Veterinary Association’s new Global Animal Welfare Awards, which aim to recognize and reward veterinarians who have provided outstanding and exemplary welfare-re-lated services to animal owners, hostels, fellow veterinarians, and the general public.

Our activities in the understanding of behaviour, using pheromones to improve the well-being of companion animals.

Our establishment of integrated antibiotherapy support programs.

Our commitment to preventive medicine, through improved vaccination programs and the more recent addition of bespoke, autogenous vaccine solutions.

Our co-organization of a seminar on animal welfare held as part of the celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the National Veterinary School of Alfort, Paris and as a result, the publication of important new insights.

These were all responsible, pragmatic actions, deeply rooted in our vision, which motivates us to act “Together” in the service of human and animal health - which are bound inextricably to one another.

In this respect, the radical changes taking place in our world can only encourage us to go further. They are bringing together the work of human, public and veterinary health professionals to build effective solutions to real problems, whilst also better unders-tanding their complexity. These new challenges provide us with a real opportunity to push ourselves to innovate together.

As long as our endeavours are designed to meet both our customers’ expectations and demonstrate the greatest respect for animal welfare, we will continue to succeed.


Animal welfare, a complex question which gives veterinarians new responsibilitiesThe question of animal welfare is a delicate issue, as it generates a great deal of emotion, which sometimes gives rise to simplistic positions and tends to set different types of agriculture against each other. To feed human beings, in quantity and quality, to maintain the equilibrium of the soil and conserve biodiversity, we need to be able to draw upon all the different forms of livestock farming: both large and smaller scale.

Despite all their diversity, animal welfare needs to be pivotal to them all. Respect for animals is an essential pre-requisite of human-animal relationships. In this context, veterinarians have a crucial role to play. Animal well-being begins with the preservation of animal health, for, like human beings, they are also subject to diseases and the suffering caused by them. For all these reasons and to mark the 250th anniversary of the ENVA (National Veterinary School of Alfort), Ceva co-organized a seminar entitled ‘Animal welfare and society’ 1. It brought together actors from many different backgrounds involved in these issues: producers, veterinarians, social scientists and two former ministers. We are pleased to thank all the participants for the quality of the discussions that were held. The contributions below provide a summary of the ideas put forward at the seminar. They allow us to look at this issue in a new light, without caricature, and to undertake everyday actions to place animal welfare at the heart of our activities.

1 With the support of AALEENA (Alumni Association of the National School of Administration), the AAEAEA (Association of Alumni and friends of the Alfort School) and the RSPV (Veterinary Public Health Network), to all of whom we extend our thanks.

Bordelaise cattle awarded French national prize by Ceva and the Fondation du Patrimoine.

Editorial


An ancestral and foundational relationshipSince the dawn of humanity, humans have learned to live in close contact with animals. A very strong feeling has arisen from this long cohabitation, one that goes far beyond their exploitation or use. Whether we look at archeology, ethnology, mythology, literature, or art, we see that this feeling, forged from childhood, is steeped in fascination, affection and fear. This explains the major role that animals have in our imagination. They participate in the construction of our identities and consequently in the equilibrium of our societies.

Humans and animals - there are a thousand stories there. A thousand ancient stories: the hunter and his dog, the farmer and his pigs, consumption

(...). Today, people try to reduce them all to one story - that of the executioner and the victim. It is a huge simplification of all our histories... Francis Wolff, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris

The dog is no longer a wolf. Domestic animals are not captive or enslaved species by man; they are species that have been capable of evolving over

time to share the human ecological niche. Patrick Pageat, Head of the Semiochemical Identification and Analogue Design Department (DISCA)

The concept of animal welfare is a difficult one to grasp Should we talk about well-being, or of “‘well-treatment”’? Moreover, by using the word animal in the singular, we group all animals into the same category. But our relationships with them are very different. In these conditions, how can this concept be expressed in the field? On what basis? Using what criteria?

«The concept of well-being does pose major problems, first of all technically because what we are measuring today is the absence of unwell-being. As far as I’m concerned - though there must be many here who feel the same - there are lots of times when I’m not exactly unwell, but I’m not entirely sure that I’m well either.» - Patrick Pageat

Science has changed people’s perceptions of animals. We’ve realized that they are able to feel emotions (...) and as a result, that allowed us

to really move forwards. It wasn’t so much that the old practices were abusive, just that there were criteria of animal welfare that were not being sufficiently considered.Luc Mounier, Professor of Zootechnics and Animal Welfare. VetAgro Sup, Veterinary Campus of Lyon

«Good measures and proper conduct already consist in making distinctions; they mean realizing that we have different duties toward animals, who live in a different way, whether at our service, or for our emotional exchanges, or because they are part of our environment, which we need to protect.» - Francis Wolff


Editorial

The extreme media attention given to animal welfare issues may sometimes give rise to shortcuts in reasoning that may be both unfounded and prejudicial, such as those that assert that animal welfare is incompatible with large-scale farming. The production requirements of farming operations do not clash with respect for animals. And the size of farming operations does not predetermine the quality of care, which depends first and foremost on the animal farming practices implemented. Its evaluation must then be made in the field, on the basis of sound animal indicators: the good health of the animal, its ability to express ecological needs, - needs that differ greatly from one species to another.

Agriculture has evolved. Large-scale animal production is seen as synonymous with less good conditions. I claim

the contrary. I lived in Cantal, where we had a family farm (...). swine rearing took place outdoors even when it was less than 10°C; the sows had chapping on their udders and backs... Taking “small is beautiful” too far has led us to simply consider modern animal husbandry as bad and lose touch with what it really is. Christiane Lambert, Swine producer and President of the FNSEA

«To say that a cow needs to graze and go out is true. To say that a pig does not need to go out is also true. A pig does not have the same needs as a cow.» - Luc Mounier

The issue of animal welfare is set in a social context, which is very paradoxical. The vast majority of the population is sensitive to it. Better animal welfare, on the other hand, has a cost attached to it that consumers must be ready to pay. And we live in a world where more than 800 million people have far from enough to eat...

«91% of respondents interviewed feel concerned about animal welfare.» - Survey carried out on France sponsored by Ceva Animal Health in 2016

However: «We discussed animal welfare, and, quite fortunately, talked about the well-being of producers as well. The two are bound together .... By the continual pressure to reduce prices ... we, for sure, put in peril farmer producers , their survival, and also put in peril animal welfare.» - Opening remarks

The key role of veterinarians and health professionals Animal welfare means taking into account the health of animals and their potential for expressing species-specific behaviour. That is why veterina-rians have a major role to play in connection with this issue. They not only have to diagnose and prescribe; they also have a role in informing owners and public authorities, to guarantee that animals receive the respect to which they are entitled.


of respondents feel concerned about animal welfareSurvey sponsored by Ceva in France in 2016

91%

“I think veterinarians have a major role to play in protecting animals. Because we know that they have feelings, and that they have been at our service for hundreds, even thousands of years. The role of the veterinarian is to ensure that their health and well-being are taken into account, for the benefit of animals and of society.” - René Carlson, Immediate past President, WVA

Whereas it is now scientifically proven that animals are endowed, at different levels, with intelligence and feeling2, researchers are now discovering that plants3 too are able to communicate and develop cooperative behaviours, and therefore, apparently have intelligence and feeling.

These considerations should convince us that the living world depends on millions of interactions among thousands of beings,

who exchange and cooperate in order to survive, and thus nourish one another. This is an unavoidable reality; there is no escaping it. Marc Prikazsky, Chairman & CEO of Ceva

The sensitive character of animals, and perhaps of plants, in this context, means we should match our need to eat with the greatest respect for all living beings, seeking to mitigate all suffering, in condemning all forms of cruelty and abuse.

2 J-C. Ameisein, Dans la lumière et les ombres, [in light and shadow] Fayard/seuil, 2011

3 La Recherche, in September 2017, report on a publication by C. Hettenhausen et al, 2017, Max Planck Institute


Editorial

Ceva continues its investment drive to have “state of the art” production facilities around the world

Since its creation, Ceva has been one of the fastest growing animal health companies. To keep up with this dynamic growth and provide its customers with products that meet the highest quality standards, on time, the company makes massive investments in its production facilities each year. In 2017, our teams set in motion four major construction projects, 3 at our French pharmaceutical sites in Libourne, Laval and Loudéac and last but not least at our European vaccine production centre in Budapest, Hungary.

Ceva has also benefited from the «Factories of the Future» programme developed by the medium-sized companies business club (ETI), in our home region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. This approach aims to make companies more efficient in three areas: industrial performance, employee workplace well-being, and respect for the environment.

Libourne pharmaceutical plant


The Group invested €7 million to transfer the production of its companion animals dermatological topicals range DOUXO® for the European market to our Brittany facility. Adding the production of this range to Feliway and Adaptil® manufacture reinforces the site’s position as the major centre of production for companion animal products and non-sterile liquids.

There are two main elements to this investment:

A technical part, involving the construction of a new 2,000 m² building that will allow the production of 1.3 million vials annually.

An organizational component, establishing a real collaborative inter-site centre for our pharmaceutical business and our Loudéac/Laval teams.

The building is scheduled to be completed in May 2018.

Furthering our ambition to become a leader in dermatological topicals

Loudéac - Brittany


By investing € 8.5 million, the group will provide increased storage capacities for pharmaceuticals and vaccines while improving the movement and flow on the site.

The new 2,600 m2 industrial building will be equipped with dynamic racks, the modular nature of which will provide maximized storage capacity equivalent to 6,000 pallets. It will include:

A cold storage area for finished and semi-finished products, with 850 m² of surface area and a height of 15 metres

An ambient temperature storage area for storing packaging materials

The new building will facilitate flows on the site by locating the production areas closer to the various storage areas: the finished products can thus be transferred directly to distribution without requiring external transport.

The delivery is scheduled for November 2018. Ceva has also initiated a study to reorganize the whole Libourne site in order to improve our employees’ working conditions and bring teams closer together, by providing the conditions for more fruitful collaborative work.

Libourne - Nouvelle-Aquitaine

a new investment to better serve our customers and strengthen our regional roots

Editorial


Although Ceva is constantly growing, the company intends to maintain its agility and flexibility. That is the thinking that motivated our development of the notion of a campus: a campus is a local skills hub based on specific expertise for one or more markets, working at the service of the group’s strategy.

In order to create in Laval a global center of expertise dedicated to companion animals Ceva will invest € 25 million between 2014 and 2020.

€7.5 million is dedicated to building a new ultramodern 3,600 m2 campus that includes a 1,000 m2 Quality Control Laboratory.

This project addresses 3 of our priorities: to boost innovation, bring us closer to our customers, and facilitate collaborative work.

It includes:

An R&D laboratory and a “Fab Lab” to experiment with new technologies, such as 3D printing

A collaborative work area gathering the campus’ teams as well as the companion animal teams, with a strong customer-focused orientation (creation of an amphi-theater for visitors, a showroom dedicated to product display and companion animal).

The campus conception is the product of an in-depth reflection, followed by a collaborative and fun project programme that involved all the teams. The building will be delivered in April 2018 and all activities will be progressively transferred to the new site through the summer of 2018.

New facilities to provide support to the innovative dynamics of our Ceva Sogeval campus

Laval - Pays-de-la-Loire


The Ceva Phylaxia Campus has a long history in Hungary, having been present for more than 100 years. Today, the campus lies at the center of a global vaccine network with Budapest being Ceva’s single largest R&D and production center. Over 95% of current production is exported to countries around the world.

In July 2017, Ceva opened a completely new facility, adding 3900 m2 to the existing campus at a cost of € 25 million creating some 60 new jobs.

Ceva Phylaxia’s recent growth has largely been driven by the production of poultry vaccines but at the end of 2016, Ceva acquired a number of key swine vaccines, from the ex-Merial range, Circovac®, being the best

known. The company will relocate production of these vaccines to the new facility by 2019, bringing swine production back to the center of a plant that in 1912 began as the Phylaxia Serum Producing Company, producing the first vaccine against classical swine fever. Part of the new production facility will also be dedicated to producing new technology vaccines used in poultry hatcheries. These vaccines use a virus strain named after József Marek, a veterinary scientist who worked at Phylaxia, ensuring that his innovation will continue to have impact through the billions of doses of vaccine that will be produced in the new facility and used by poultry producers throughout the world.

Ceva PhylaxiaEuropean centre for vaccine production completes a “Full Circle of Innovation”

Editorial


Ceva invests in its Hungarian state of the art vaccine plant to support “Innovation with impact” growth plan



Strong sales during 2017 of CEVAC® Transmune IBD, Ceva’s first immune complex vaccine against infectious bursal disease,

enabled this key product to achieve around 70% of market share.

Finally, early results from the new marketing campaign for Leish-TecC® were encouraging. Leish-TecC® is a new generation vaccine against visceral leishmaniasis, which can be transmitted from infected dogs to people via biting sand flies causing serious disease and even death.

The 2017 results are due to the hard work done over the previous years – building teams, finding the right leaders, aligning with Ceva’s strategy, developing the right business models for each business unit and providing excellent administrative support. It includes significant achievements in all the business units: in ruminants we achieved 20% growth even in a declining market and reinforced our position as leader in reproduction; in poultry we developed real partnerships with the key accounts through the full implementation of

the C.H.I.C.K. Program; in the very competitive swine sector we integrated new vaccines into our range and developed a new team able to deliver our innovative products and services. Finally, the companion animal figures speak for themselves, in just four years we have increased turnover fourfold. Alex Martino, Ceva Spain country manager

Ceva Spain achieved the best performance of any of the Ceva subsidiaries in 2017: sales grew by 33% with equally strong profit growth and more than 90% of turnover concentrated on the company’s strategic products – these are its most important and innovative products that really distinguish Ceva from its competitors.

Brazil

Geographic review

This marked the culmination of an 8-year, Euro 3.5 million vaccine development programme. An effective vaccine against IBV has been long awaited by the Brazilian poultry industry and this important new addition to Ceva’s range looks set to

become the company’s main product in the country. Fernando Luiz de Mori, Ceva Brazil country manager

In 2017, Ceva Brazil successfully integrated Hertape Saude Animale Ltda and Inova Biotecnologia Saude Animale Ltda. The acquisition of these businesses in late 2016 was our largest ever acquisition and enabled Ceva’s entry into the strategically important global foot-and-mouth vaccine market.

Another notable achievement during the year was the successful introduction to the market of CEVAC® IBras®, the first vaccine specifically targeted at controlling the Brazilian variant of avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV).

Spain


In Thailand, reintroduction of the Circovac® vaccine in 2017 was warmly welcomed by Thai pig farmers. As a result, Ceva Thailand doubled the size of its swine team enabling them to better serve existing and attract new key accounts with a wider range of products and services, including surveillance, sero monitoring, improvement of vaccination and vaccination audit.

A decade after the hatchery vaccination concept was introduced in Thailand during 2017 more than 900 million day-old-chicks were vaccinated in hatcheries using the company’s vaccines in more than 500 Duovac automatic injectors.

Ceva is now the market leader in poultry vaccines in Thailand. This confirms the effectiveness of our actions to meet the expec-tations of our customers and earn their trust. We are now the

reference in hatchery vaccination and services for our customers and we keep on bringing innovations in products and services, not only to broiler farmers but also to layer farmers. Rucha Jarungratchatakit, Ceva Thailand country director

Thailand

In 2017, Ceva remained the market leader in Turkey for both the ruminants and poultry sectors, reinforcing its top position by achieving 15% growth in the company’s strategic products.

Over the past 5 years, Ceva Turkey has established itself as a trusted advisor to poultry vets and producers. We have more than doubled our sales for poultry over the past 5 years and also expanded the market. In ruminants, we have succeeded in becoming the reference for reproduction management products. Ceva Turkey’s success is due to a good balance between individual performance and team solidarity and spirit. Each of our employees needs to be the best in their area of expertise – the one that the customer seeks out when they need support.

To that end, we are committed to training, developing and listening to our team members. We also need to provide leadership in the country – currently Ceva holds the chair of VISAD, the organisation representing the animal health industry in Turkey. Yavuz Uzun, Ceva Turkey country manager

Turkey

During 2017, the North America | Pacific Zone delivered strong results by focusing on expanding and deepening customer relationships. The business improved its ability to efficiently meet demands of the companion animal, poultry, swine and ruminant markets. Expansion in the online and pet retail space resulted in growing brand awareness and usage – a trend which will continue in 2018.

Ceva’s innovative and variant-virus infectious bronchitis vaccine helped poultry producers battle this serious respiratory threat. This year Ceva successfully launched GleptoForte® for swine in the U.S. and Florkem for swine and cattle in Canada.

Our team had strong momentum going into 2017, even if overall, this was a difficult year for the Zone. We focused on uncovering and capitalizing on opportunities to protect and grow our business.

Across all species and countries, our teams challenged themselves to do more and deliver more. I’m very proud of their successes and results. Craig S. Wallace, Ceva North America-Pacific zone director

North America | Pacific


DR. GABRIEL RSHAIDGLOBAL OPERATIONS & FRANCHISES DIRECTOR

DR. PASCAL ANJOTPHARMACY UNIT DIRECTOR

VALÉRIE MAZEAUDLEGAL DIRECTOR

DR. MARC PRIKAZSKYCHAIRMAN & CEO

Executive Committee

Members of the Executive Committee



DAVID DERAINGROUP HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR

DR. JÉRÔME-ANDRÉ GAUTHIERSTRATEGY AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

THIERRY LE-FLOHICBIOLOGY UNIT DIRECTOR

ALAIN DE WOILLEMONTCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Members of the Executive Committee



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Ceva in 2017



Calendar 2017

JanuaryCeva: Best company in Europe winner Animal Pharm awards 2016

Animal Pharm’s annual industry awards are designed to honour achievements within the animal health sector over the calendar year.

The last 12 months have been transfor-mational for Ceva , as the company made large strides to achieving its top five ambitions.

Not only is Ceva stimulating growth internally with R&D in the areas of vaccines, genomics and livestock repro-duction, it has also secured some signi-ficant acquisitions in 2016.

FebruaryCeva Santé Animale creates a new joint-venture with EBVAC

Founded in 2005 by China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center (CAHEC), EBVAC is specialized in the development and production of animal health vaccines.

This new agreement will not only allow Ceva to increase its position on the global swine market, but also strengthen its expertise in vaccinology and develop its biology activities.

MarchC.H.I.C.K. Program wins the E-Novation Award VIV ASIA 2017

VIV ASIA 2017 awarded our C.H.I.C.K. Program, which received Quality Recogni-tion by Bureau Veritas in 2016, as the world-class innovation in the animal health category.

The award values the professionalism of our teams and their customer passion.

April New Communication Campaign for Altresyn® launched by Ceva Swine Corporate Team

Altresyn® improves the production flow and profitability on farm by allowing the plan of an intelligent production flow.

The objective of this campaign is to consolidate Ceva as the reproduction management leader in swine production and promote the exclusive advantages of the product in swine production.

May Official authorization granted to Zeleris®

The official marketing authorization for Zeleris® was granted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on May 19th.

Zeleris® was therefore launched before the peak of respiratory infections (bovine) that mainly appear in the European autumn.

JuneVectra efficiency recognized by the U.S. Companion Animal Parasite Council

The U.S. Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) launched its first-ever set of guidelines on mosquito control and mentioned Vectra 3D® by name, as an effective product to kill and repel mosquitoes.

The creation of the Mosquito Control Guidelines demonstrate CAPC’s commit-ment to the veterinary community and pet-owning public in the fight against vector borne illness.



July Ceva Phylaxia inaugurates state of the art vaccine plant to support “Innovation with Impact” growth plan

A further 3900m2 of space, containing more than 100 pieces of new equipment, were added to the existing campus at a cost of € 25 million euro (7.8 billion forint), creating 60 new jobs.

Ceva Phylaxia campus lies at the center of a global vaccine network with Budapest being the single largest R&D and production center.

Over 95% of current production is exported to countries around the world.

AugustFirst “Global Animal Welfare Awards” Ceremony

On the occasion of the 33rd World Veterinary Congress in Incheon, Korea, Ceva and the World Veterinary Associa-tion (WVA) jointly organized the first Global Animal Welfare Awards.

These prizes recognize and reward veterinarians who showed initiative and commitment, and provided outstanding and exemplary welfare-related services to animal owners, shelters, fellow veteri-narians, and the public.

SeptemberWVPA Congress in Edinburgh, Ceva details latest poultry “Vaccinology” strategy

At the World Veterinary Poultry Association Congress in Edinburgh, Ceva hosted a scientific symposium, Mastering In Ovo Vaccination - A closer look at key details, focusing on the critical success factors for in ovo vaccination: embryo age and development, new solutions for improved chick quality and the essential steps to optimise in ovo vaccination.

“Innovation is the key to this new Vaccino-logy approach” said, Dr. Sylvain Comte, Ceva’s Head of Poultry.

OctoberCeva gathers its 1400 French employees in Bordeaux

Ceva’s employee numbers have grown at a strong pace through both acquisi-tions and recruitment. Marc Prikazsky, Ceva’s CEO, is keen that all employees remain close to one another and for this reason decided to gather all employees from the 6 French sites during a conven-tion organized October 2-3.

This event was the opportunity for everyone to discover or rediscover each site’s expertise, then get together during a gala dinner in the presence of the Bordeaux-Bègles Top 14 professional rugby team, which Ceva sponsors.

November All around the world, Ceva’s teams commitment goes “beyond animal health”

Ceva employees worldwide share this vision, which is why the Portuguese team decided to donate 10 tons of animal feed for the areas most affected by the serious fires that damaged the region.

A few weeks earlier, Ceva Mexico had donated Adaptil® products to relieve the rescue dogs from the high level of anxiety and tiredness experienced during their exhaustive work shifts following the recent earthquakes.

Finally, Ceva Indonesia team supported “World Egg Day” and “National Chicken and Egg Day” through a blog competition to increase the awareness of society about the importance of chicken and eggs for human health.

DecemberFor the first time, Ceva crosses the symbolic 1 billion euro milestone

Dr Marc Prikazsky, Ceva CEO, wanted to share a message with Ceva’s teams:

“It is a remarkable achievement, especially for those of us who took the first steps with Ceva in 2000. Who would have imagined it? Many other challenges lie ahead for us, but for the moment, at the end of the year, let us celebrate together this historic breakthrough.”


26 Ceva Annual Report 201726 Ceva Annual Report 2017

Poultry


Ceva – number one in hatchery vaccination

N°1

18%

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2nd

800

22 billion

180

175

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global vaccine market share

1 in 4 chickens globally is vaccinated with Ceva’s new technology vaccines

Global leader in new techno hatchery vaccines supply-2017

CevaSupplier A Supplier B Supplier C Others

54 %

24 %

14 % 6 % 2 %

global supplier of poultry vaccines

poultry professionals

doses of new techno hatchery vaccines in 2017

vet specialists close to you

hatchery specialists at your service

Poultry


22 billion

CevaSupplier A Supplier B Supplier C Others

After launching some of the most innovative vaccines that the poultry industry has seen in the last decade we realized vaccination alone is no longer enough. Ensuring that vaccines are applied correctly as part of a total preventative health programme is key to the future. So, Ceva has invested significantly over the last decade developing a complete portfolio of new technology vaccines, in-ovo vaccination and hatchery automation equipment, and support services. For example, our new product Laser Life™ identifies live eggs, vital in the in ovo process, as one dead or contaminated egg can spread contamination through injecting equipment causing severe disruption and waste. And our latest Egginject™ adapts to every egg, as compared to older systems that inject to a uniform depth, which can result in poor or no vaccine uptake. Sylvain Comte, Ceva poultry corporate marketing director



Poultry

Ceva’s 9 innovation areas to help the world’s poultry producers optimize production

The challenges of feeding the world in the future are well known. The current global population of 7.6 billion will increase to 9.7 billion by 2050 and reach 11.2 billion by the end of the century. Between 2016 and 2017 the world gained an additional 83 million citizens. The growing population will demand not only sufficient food but good quality food, including in many cases meat, milk, eggs and fish. Poultry is the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector and is likely to continue to grow in the future. But whilst achieving that growth and meeting increasing demand, the poultry industry will have to produce eggs and meat in ways that are more sustainable and efficient, that enhance bird welfare and safeguard human health; 70% of the increased production will need to come from productivity gains.

Vaccines and improved preventative medicine will have an important role to play in this, but vaccination alone is not enough. As a result, in addition to becoming the global reference in hatchery vaccination with a complete portfolio of new technology vaccines, Ceva’s preventive health approach also includes innovative hatchery vaccination and automation equipment and a wide range of services to help its customers optimize their performance all along the production cycle - breeders, hatcheries, farms and slaughterhouses.


Hatchery vaccination services The unique Ceva C.H.I.C.K. Program is a complete service package to improve quality of day-old-chicks and in ovo vaccination. It combines managing the vaccination program, improving the quality of vaccination and achieving good quality chicks, ensuring the equipment is in sound working condition and training customers’ staff in good vaccination procedures. C.H.I.C.K. is the first quality animal health services program to be independently certified by Bureau Veritas. The program has now been officially approved in South Africa, Spain, Turkey, The Philippines, Mexico, Russia, and Poland.

Field monitoring & veterinary services Ceva’s Global Protection Service (GPS) concept offers poultry companies an objective, effective and organized approach to vaccination monitoring, disease diagnosis and control, and tracking epidemiological trends over time on their farms. The GPS protocol provides guidelines for what samples need to be collected at what ages and frequencies and how the samples should be analysed to enable poultry companies’ vets and managers to assess the efficacy of vaccination regimes and support decision making and fine tuning of their veterinary investments.

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The company’s unique offer to the global poultry industry is made up of nine innovation areas which together can be used to build customer-specific, total preventive health solutions.

Innovative hatchery vaccines Investment over 20 years has enabled Ceva to provide the largest range of vaccines that can be used in the hatchery, either in ovo or administered to day-old-chicks. The full range of vaccines includes highly innovative immune complex, recombinant, inactivated and live vaccines. Ceva has been at the forefront of the shift to vaccination in the hatchery and this approach offers multiple benefits: better quality vaccination leading to better protection and reduced usage of antibiotics later on; reduced handling and vaccination of day-old-chicks and older birds leading to enhanced welfare; increased efficiency and reduced waste leading to cost savings and more worker-friendly conditions.

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Vaccination equipment Ceva Ecat-iD Campus


Poultry

Diagnosis and laboratory network Ceva has three scientific support and investigation units serving the USA, Europe and China. The units provide experts and laboratory support for diagnosis, in running trials and monitoring results in customers’ facilities. In addition, the units carryout scientific studies to build knowledge on existing products as well as innovations still under development.

In ovo vaccination Ceva Ecat-iD’s Egginject™ in ovo system has a host of innovative feature that together improve the precision and efficacy of in ovo vaccination and enhance chick welfare.

Autogenous vaccination services In addition to off-the-shelf solutions, Ceva can offer bespoke vaccines to address specific local disease challenges identified on individual farms. So far, this service includes autogenous vaccines against bacterial and viral diseases in the US from the Biomune Campus in Kansas and bacterial diseases in Europe, and soon viral diseases will also be covered in Europe from the Ceva Biovac Campus in Angers, France.

Data management services Both the C.H.IC.K. program and GPS generate large amounts of data. Going forward, an important focus for Ceva will be to focus on how best to use this huge amount of data to help its customers continuously meet evolving consumer demands.

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Hatchery systemCeva Ecat-iD Campus


Hatchery automation Ceva Ecat-iD does not subscribe to a ‘one size fits all’ approach. As each customer, hatchery and processing room is different, the ethos is to help customers maximise throughput by tailoring the best solution for their facility, using equipment that meets the highest animal welfare standards.

Day-old chick health services Laser candling with the innovative new Ceva Ecat-iD product Laser Life™ allows automatic removal of clear eggs and early mortality embryos. This prevents contamination of day-old chicks at hatch and improves chick quality, helping producers achieve antibiotic-free production.

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Summing up Ceva’s innovative approach, Head of Poultry Sylvain Comte said: “Applying science to what our customers do every day in the field is key. We are proud of the innovative vaccines that we have developed but this is only half of the job. Constantly testing their performance and ensuring they are applied correctly under field conditions is much more challenging. That’s why we ensure our scientific and services teams are alongside our customers ensuring they can achieve the highest possible performance standards.”


Poultry

With the successful launch of IBras® in Brazil, Ceva emerges as the leader in avian vaccination in Latin AmericaAs chicken becomes the world’s most consumed meat, with Brazil the largest exporter of poultry products, Ceva’s teams worked hard during 2017 to bring innovation to this important global market.

The Poultry team in Brazil have for several years worked hard to promote the success of Transmune, a vaccine, which today protects 72% of the country’s broilers from Gumboro disease, a contagious viral disease with serious economic consequences. Our SG Cevac S. Galinarom, Corymune 4 and 7 vaccines are also strengthening their positions, as primary products in the control of salmonellosis.

But 2017 will be remembered above all as the year of the successful launch of a new vaccine, IBras®, designed specifically to prevent a local variant of infectious bronchitis for which no satisfactory response had been found, at the time of its launch.

With this new Cevac IBras® vaccine, Ceva is tackling one of the most dangerous diseases found on poultry farms Brazil has been impacted by infectious bronchitis variant BR1, a disease with particularly severe health and economic consequences. This disease, which previously could not be satisfactorily controlled with vaccines and often required the use of antibiotics, was probably the most serious avian health problem to emerge in Brazil

in the last 10 years. It caused losses estimated at over 10 million US dollars in the state of Parana, alone1.

Cevac IBras® is the first live attenuated vaccine that provides a true response to this pathology. Designed in partnership with the University of Sao Paulo and tested in 2016, it was successfully launched in 2017.

Administered in the hatchery on all categories of day-old chicks, as part of the C.H.I.C.K. Program, using Desvac Duo technology, which has been recognized for its simplicity, quality and efficiency, it was warmly welcomed by the entire profession, from breeders to opinion leaders.

1 Assayag, 2012


The strength of a model based on customer proximity, ecosystem-focused work and the commitment of our teamsThese results are first and foremost the result of our cooperation with our customers. For us, the challenge is to understand their needs, their constraints and their models so as to provide them with specific answers with high added value. This strategy requires our teams to focus not only on the development of vaccines, but also on the whole vaccination process.

This cooperation, through the sharing of knowledge and experience it brings about, is undoubtedly the most reliable driver of innovation.


Poultry

C.H.I.C.K. Program Quality Recognition by Bureau Veritas - 17 new subsidiaries audited and approved in 2017

Consumers are becoming more and more attentive to the quality of their food. According to a recent study 66% of consumers worldwide consider food to constitute a potential health risk.

Ceva’s poultry team was early to recognise the emerging demand of consumers to be certain about the quality of their food and in 2016 took the initiative to approach the Bureau Veritas Group to obtain the International Quality Recognition for our C.H.I.C.K. hatchery vaccination program. Our subsidiary in South Africa was the first to achieve this important recognition and in 2017, 17 subsidiaries followed suit: Spain, Turkey, the Philippines, Mexico, Russia, Poland, UK, Vietnam, Argentina, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Romania, Brazil, Colombia and France.

Our poultry team took a very early interest in hatchery vaccination, which alone can guarantee that all chicks are vaccinated properly under much less stressful conditions than in on-farm vaccination: concerns for animal health, after all, are closely bound to concerns for animal welfare.

Hatcheries can play a decisive role in disease elimination strategies, provided that they are well-equipped, well-managed and employ trained personnel. It was this strict requirement that gave rise to the development of the C.H.I.C.K. Program, a comprehensive service program covering the five aspects of hatchery vacci-

nation: vaccine management, use of injection machines, vaccination techniques, control and audit of vaccination programs, as well as continuing training for hatchery personnel, to ensure that hatchery personnel apply good vaccination practices and are kept informed of the latest developments and news in the vaccination field. Launched in 2009, the C.H.I.C.K. Program experienced spectacular growth at hundreds of hatcheries around the world. This is shown in the table below. Very early on, it benefited from the introduction of innovative data management tools (2013-2014) that made it possible to monitor performance as part of a process of continuous improvement of results.

Table 1. Growth of C.H.I.C.K. Program hatchery services worldwide (Source : Ceva)

2014 2015 2016 2017

Hatcheries 610 816 912 957

Audits 3659 4592 6928 7225

Dedicated professionals in Ceva hatchery services team

111 130 151 160

C e v a A n i m a l H e a l t h m a k e s a v a i l a b l e t h e C.H.I .C.K Program Quality Code of Practice to their affil iates for the control of good hatcher y vaccinat ion prac t ices in poultr y.

CONTROLLED BY BUREAU VERITAS GROUP.

CT814 C.H.I.C.K Program Quality

Code of Prac t ice Vers ion 1/16.


It was out of this concern to guarantee our customers ever-greater levels of quality, safety and efficiency, that the poultry team first decided to approach Bureau Veritas Group to validate the C.H.I.C.K. Program’s Quality Code of Practices, documentation and the expertise of the teams responsible for implementing it in the field.

Established in 1828, Bureau Veritas is a world-leading, independent testing, inspection and certification body that delivers ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 quality management and environmental management certi-fications. With more than 74,000 employees in nearly 1,400 offices and laboratories, the group has established

itself as a global benchmark. It helps its customers to improve their performance levels by providing services that allow them to verify that their products, infrastruc-tures and procedures comply with regulatory standards and requirements in regard to quality, safety, health, protection and social responsibility.

Ceva is proud to be the first animal health company to obtain such Quality Recognition for vaccination services, ensuring for our customers the same quality service every day and everywhere. We are currently totally focused in rolling this out to all major countries including China, the United States, India and Saudi Arabia, among others.



Swine



With Circovac®, Hyogen® and its rapidly expanding vaccine range, Ceva demonstrates its commitment to swine healthPCV2 is a virus that causes major diseases of pigs leading to considerable economic losses. In 2017 Ceva relaunched Circovac®, a vaccine originally developed by Merial that protects piglets, gilts and sows from PCV2 throughout their lives. Circovac® is marketed in combination with Hyogen®, the reference vaccine that Ceva developed to prevent mycoplasmosis, an important respiratory disease. By engaging with thousands of veterinarians and producers around the world, Ceva aims to become a global leader in swine health.

In January 2017, Ceva signed an agreement to acquire four major porcine vaccines, Circovac®, Parvoruvax®, Parvovax® and Progressis®, previously developed and marketed by Merial. This acquisition significantly stren-gthened our range of pork products and services. It has allowed us to affirm our commitment to engage with producers and swine veterinarians around the world.

In 2017, particular emphasis was given to relaunching and putting the Ceva stamp on Circovac®. This included developing and sharing clear

messages about the features and benefits of this unique vaccine, as well as producing clear, simple guidelines for effective vacci-nation programmes using Circovac®

Stefano Gozio, Ceva swine corporate marketing director

Circovac® provides protection against porcine circovirus diseases (PCVD) caused by porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2). These diseases represent a major problem in almost all commercial pig farms, signi-ficantly limiting the efficiency and profitability of operations even in apparently healthy herds. The virus is ubiquitous in swine production systems.

Swine


The economic impact of the disease, even in its most common subclinical form, justifies the mass implementation of PCV2 vaccination in piglets.

Circovac® was the first PCV2 vaccine registered for use in piglets and sows and is the only globally marketed vaccine based on PCV2 whole virus. It offers important benefits for the customer. It ensures a reduction in piglet mortality, improved growth, better homogeneity in a batch and a reduction in the use of antibiotics. Its efficacy is also proven against all relevant PCV2 genotypes, including the emerging PCV2d.

Ceva’s swine business is now able to offer the industry an effective solution to protect pig farms: Circovac®, which covers a wide range of indications, protecting piglets, gilts and sows throughout their life, is marketed to producers in combination with Hyogen®, a vaccine that our teams have developed to fight against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

2017, a big year for the swine businessThe year 2017 will be recorded in the archives as a big year for the Ceva swine business. During the year, our teams have participated in major events, targeting leading pork producers and several thousand veterinarians in Europe, China and Asia, Russia, Latin America and Canada. By sponsoring these prestigious events and organizing symposiums and other technical gathe-rings, Ceva creates the conditions for sharing knowledge and experience between opinion leaders, experts, researchers from health institutes, health professionals and our own teams. We believe that progress in swine health is best achieved by working together, to share knowledge in an expanding ecosystem.

The rapid development of innovative products and services, and our concern to ensure that the global community of veterinarians and pig producers is kept abreast of developments in this sector, demonstrates our commitment to listen to swine producers for the joint welfare of people and animals.


Ceva launches flagship injectable iron product GleptoForte® in the USThe Ceva swine team took advantage of the opportunity provided by the Iowa Pork Congress, held in Des Moines in January 2017, to stage the official US launch of Ceva’s flagship iron supplement for piglets, GleptoForte®. With around 5,000 vets and producers in attendance from the large swine producing states in the Midwestern United States, the event was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate how Ceva’s rapidly growing range of quality swine products, backed up by best-in-class technical services, is increasingly meeting their herd health needs.

Swine


GleptoForte®, an FDA-approved injectable iron supplement containing gleptoferron, is backed up by nearly four decades of research and development on iron supplementation. It can be used for routine prevention and also treatment of baby pig anaemia due to iron deficiency leading to healthier and more productive pigs at weaning.

One advantage of GleptoForte® is that iron in the form of gleptoferron is rapidly absorbed and ensures high blood iron concentrations, which is especially important in the first few days of life.

Piglets are especially prone to developing anaemia due to iron deficiency. Compared to other animals, piglets are born with a low iron concentration in their tissues and this situation is exacerbated by low levels of iron present in sows’ milk. Without effective supplementation piglets inevitably develop iron deficiency anaemia: in severe cases piglets can die, while in less severe cases growth rates are reduced and immune systems depressed leading to increased risk of other diseases.

The Iowa Pork Congress provides us with a great opportunity to meet customers and prospects and discuss how Ceva is assembling all the right elements to meet their herd health needs.

Veterinarians in attendance were excited to know they have another option for their iron supplementation needs. Ceva’s decision to market GleptoForte®, our unique injectable iron, in the United States demonstrates our commitment to provide our customers with both a high-quality injectable iron and a reliable supply of product.

The success we earned by gaining market share with ChronoMate®, for synchronization of oestrus, shows US swine producers trust us and recognize our capacity to deliver quality products and daily technical support.Gary Robertson, Ceva US swine business unit director


Smartvac™: A smarter way to ensure streamlined, high quality and traceable vaccination of piglets

During 2017, Ceva launched Smartvac™, the first-ever connected, automatic vaccinator for piglets. The innovative Smartvac™ injector has a host of smart features that helps ensure fast, safe and accurate vaccination, complemented by a link via Bluetooth to Ceva’s smartphone or tablet application Vaccinomics™. The award-winning Vaccinomics™ application allows comprehensive measurement and instant reporting of all relevant data to allow tracking of the quality of vaccination sessions in a continuous improvement approach.

Swine

Since 2008, the Ceva Desvac campus in Saint-Barthéle-my-d’Anjou, France has been busy combining its unique expertise in vaccination equipment with the skills and resources of Ceva to form a powerful vaccine technology partnership. This partnership reflects Ceva’s recognition that it is not enough just to develop and supply world-class vaccines; rather comprehensive vaccination solutions are needed. Previously focused on the poultry sector, Ceva Desvac’s new generation automated injector, Smartvac™, now extends the benefits of high-quality automated vaccination to the swine sector.

We know that vaccination sessions are a delicate balance between speed and quality of execution. The Smartvac™ injector and its accessories have been designed to the highest ergonomic standards to achieve ‘peace of mind’ and meet the demands of the field, regardless of the number of piglets to be vaccinated Benoit Jonet, Ceva Desvac campus general manager

The Smartvac™ injector is packed full of innovative features that deliver a wide range of benefits on the farm.

The injector is safe and convenient to use and allows the operator to set instantaneously the right dose, for the vaccination session.


At Ceva, we know the importance of vaccinating piglets in terms of time spent on this task, but the quality of vaccination is also key to improving herd health and optimizing the working comfort of those people vaccinating. Until now, swine producers mostly talked about vaccination as being done or not done. At Ceva we

want to guarantee that it is not only done but also WELL done. In order to meet these requirements, Ceva Desvac developed an innovative solution with Smartvac ™. We subscribe to the idea that anything that cannot be measured cannot be improved; now with Vaccinomics™ the producers will finally be able to set the parameters, measure and control the vaccination quality of piglets.Philippe Mazerolles, Ceva swine corporate range manager

It has a built-in LED light, animal sensor and remote wireless trigger – the latter ensures that the user can control the exact moment a piglet is injected and avoid accidental injection. The user receives instant feedback to confirm the correct volume has been administered and is also automatically alerted when the vaccine vial needs replenishing. This is easily achieved through a simple ‘plug out-plug in’ system to ensure an uninterrupted vaccination session.

The Smartvac™ injector is linked via Bluetooth technology to Ceva’s innovative application

Vaccinomics™ which operates on a smartphone or tablet. This allows vaccine quality to be measured and tracked. It provides instant reporting of all relevant data in clear, user-friendly formats. This makes it easy for managers to monitor, improve and control the quality of immunization.

The Vaccinomics™ application was awarded an Innov’Space award at the International Livestock Exhibition, held in Rennes, France in September 2017. This marked the tenth successive year Ceva innovations have been recognised at this event.


Ceva invests to support Chinese pork producers who account for over 40% of global swine production

When Chinese people say ‘meat’ they mean pork. The national pig herd, which totalled over 433 million head*

at the end of 2017, accounts for almost one in every two pigs worldwide. The Chinese pork industry represents 43.4% of the global production, with 55.8 million tonnes being consumed in 2017 – equivalent to more than 40 kg a year for every man, woman and child. Although in the past most pigs were kept by small-scale backyard producers, there is currently a strong shift to very large-scale integrated production to comply with increasingly strict environmental protection regulation. The country’s north-eastern corn belt is a particular focus of the huge new ultra-modern pig farms. As Ceva’s ambitions in the swine sector have grown dramatically over the last few years and its range of products and services increased to keep pace, not surprisingly China is a high priority country for the company.

Swine

Ceva has been directly present in China since 2002, following the signature of a partnership with the distributor, Trinity. In the following years, our presence steadily increased until the creation of the joint-venture, Ceva HuaDu in 2011, designed to share knowledge and ensure the company’s international swine (and poultry) expertise could be applied to local conditions and the disease challenges in China.

In February 2017, Ceva’s presence in China was significantly boosted with the signing of a major new joint-venture agreement with Chinese swine vaccine special ist EBVAC. The agreement saw the creation of a new business, Ceva Ebvac, focused on swine vaccines. This historic agreement was signed in the presence of both the Chinese and French prime ministers. Since it was founded in 2005, EBVAC, based in Hangzhou City, near Shanghai, has focused on swine and poultry vaccine research, production and service. Over the past 5 years, the company has grown at an average

of 20% a year and in 2016 achieved sales of 140 million RMB (USD 22 million). Swine vaccines have been the major driver of this impressive growth and account for well over half of sales.

EBVAC was founded by the China Animal Health and Epide-miology Center (CAHEC), through its subsidiary company Qingdao Yebio, a part of the National Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The company is recognized by the government as a ‘National High-Tech Enterprise’.Harry Picard, Ceva China country manager

Ceva will hold the majority of shares in the new company, Ceva Ebvac. By bringing together Ceva’s products and services with the Ebvac portfolio of vaccines the aim is to create the most innovative company in the swine vaccines market sector.

Ceva Ebvac has recently made significant investment to build a world-class industrial facility that together with major R&D investment will allow the business to continue it impressive growth record.

*www.statista.com


Combining the two company’s sales forces and training them to roll out Ceva’s innovative swine management programs will allow the company to reach many more swine producers and encourage them to adopt the ‘new-style professional farming methods’ recommended by the Chinese government in its latest 5-year plan.

August 2017 saw the launch in China of the swine vaccine Circovac®. Circovac® was one of the former-Merial vaccines that Ceva acquired in a deal finalised in January 2017.

Circovac® is an inactivated vaccine for use against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). Uniquely amongst PCV2 disease vaccines, it is based on the whole virus.

PCV2 first emerged in North America in the late 1990s, since when it has spread to most swine producing regions. The virus was initially associated with a clinical syndrome known as postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) but today the disease is mainly seen under a subclinical form with growth retardation and heterogeneity of pigs within a batch.

The launch events for Circovac® in China were an opportunity to provide an update on PCV2 related diseases and to demonstrate the benefits of the vaccine to technical managers from the country’s largest swine producers.

I am delighted that EBVAC and their shareholders have accepted our offer to create this exciting, new partnership. China is a country that no global animal health company can ignore. Half of the world’s

pigs are raised here and demand for pork products is set to rise even further. If you are not present in China, you simply cannot be considered a global swine company. Marc Prikazsky, Chairman and CEO of Ceva

China has around 40 million sows, 10 million of which are kept in industrial farms. This represents a huge potential market for Circovac® and the Ceva swine team is very motivated to capture a big part of it. In this market, with one international competitor and a crowd of more than 30 local vaccines, the Ceva swine team is now focused on demonstrating the superior benefits of Circovac® through imple-mentation of impactful trials and by providing excellent veterinary services to the key accounts. Our huge ambitions for Circovac® in China will help Ceva to become

a leading player in the biggest swine market in the world.Antonin Bonneau, Ceva China swine business manager

*www.statista.com



Ruminant


Ruminant

Powerful new one-shot treatment for bovine respiratory disease, Zeleris® launched in EuropeBovine respiratory disease (BRD) affects up to 25% of calves in Europe. The disease is the most important cause of deaths in young stock accounting for 30% of all calf mortality. In May 2017, Ceva was granted market authorisation by the European Medicines Agency for a new product, Zeleris®. For the first time, this new product combines a powerful antibiotic, florfenicol, with a long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, meloxicam. In the past, treatment of BRD required two separate injections to deliver these two types of medications. With the advent of combination products, this became possible in one shot. Now Ceva’s new combination product offers a range of additional benefits to farmers and vets. Zeleris® has already been well received in Europe. With other marketing authorisations expected soon, the benefits of this important new product will be extended worldwide.

By combining florfenicol, a molecule not used in human medicine, with meloxicam, a proven and well-used long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Zeleris® allows vets and farmers to use a single-shot product that treats the infection, relieves pulmonary inflammation and reduces fever. This minimizes the impact of lung lesions due to BRD, which is important for the future performance of the calf. The fast action also means that calves resume feeding quickly to allow resumption of normal growth and development.Juan Munoz-Bielsa, Ceva ruminant corporate marketing director

Bovine respiratory disease affects up to 25% of Europe’s 30 million calves. Infected animals usually have a fever and exhibit coughing due to infection of the lower respiratory tract. Pulmonary inflammation can have a long-lasting effect on growth rates and liveweight gain.

Zeleris® is the ‘perfect match’, combining an antibiotic well suited to the treatment of BRD infection (florfenicol) with a long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (meloxicam) to relieve inflammation and reduce fever. Florfenicol, which is not used in human medicine, is active against the most commonly isolated bacterial pathogens involved in BRD, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni.

Zeleris® was developed as part of Ceva’s Cevolution Program, which embodies the company’s commitment to smart, responsible innovation in antibiotics: the antibiotic used is not classified as being critically important for human medicine. Zeleris® also offers the advantage of ensuring good compliance as it requires only one injection, displays excellent syringability and is packaged in lightweight and unbreakable CLAS® vials. Finally, it reduces the pain of animals, a major concern for veterinarians and producers.



Ruminant

One year on, the integration of Brazilian FMD specialist Inova has gone smoothly In late 2016, Ceva announced its biggest ever acquisition when it purchased two leading Brazilian biophar-maceutical companies, including specialist foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine manufacturer Inova Biotecnologia Saude Animale Ltda. A major challenge for the year 2017 was to initiate the process of integrating Inova into the Ceva family of businesses. In fact, the integration process went very smoothly: targets were exceeded both in Brazil and in the export business. Following the acquisitions, Ceva has now emerged as one of the top players in the country’s huge cattle sector. Good progress has also been made in preparing for major changes necessitated by the government’s decision to change the composition of the FMD vaccine during 2018 and to reduce the dose volume in 2019.

Making a success of new acquisitions is often a challenging process but integration of the Brazilian FMD vaccine manufacturer Inova into Ceva’s rapidly growing family of businesses went very smoothly during 2017. Not only did FMD vaccine manufacture and distribution continue without disruption, but targets were exceeded and profitability increased. Ceva’s share of the country’s FMD vaccine market was a very respec-table 15% in 2017 with Ceva being one of the top three FMD vaccine producers in Brazil.

Brazil has the second largest cattle herd in the world; only India has more cattle. Brazil is the world’s largest exporter of beef, accounting for nearly 20% of global exports.

FMD vaccination of cattle is mandatory in Brazil with a total of more than 332 million doses being administered during 2017. The twice-yearly vaccination campaign is a huge operation that demands military-style organi-sation with the vaccine manufacturers and distributors, farmers and the government all playing important roles. Brazil’s FMD control programme has been ongoing for more than two decades.

The year 2018 is expected to see Brazil be formally recognised by OIE, the World Organisation for Animal Health, as being ‘FMD free with vaccination’.

This is a great achievement for the country and is the pay-off for an effective control campaign implemented for more than 20 years. This will be

good for the country’s beef industry because it will demonstrate the serious work done and will improve our image as an exporter country, reducing each time more sanitary barriers Fernando Luiz De Mori, Ceva Brazil country manager

The new FMD status will not affect the mandatory vaccination of all cattle in the country, at least not for the foreseeable future. And FMD outbreaks during 2017 in countries that border Brazil, such as Venezuela and Colombia, serve as reminders that FMD virus is still in circulation in the region.

During 2018, Ceva Brazil faces major challenges due to the decision by the government to change the formulation of FMD vaccine used in Brazil. Currently the vaccine contains three antigens, A, O and C, but


in 2018 the C antigen will be dropped from the vaccine formulation. This is being done because FMD serotype C has not been detected in the country for more than 10 years. In addition, in 2019, the volume of vaccine injected is to be reduced from the current 5 ml to 2 ml.

Looking ahead, Fernando De Mori, is optimistic: “Ceva Brazil has already produced some batches of the new two-antigen vaccine formulation which have been approved by the government’s testing program, so we look to be well placed to cope with producing the new formulations. Going forward, our objectives are to focus on increasing efficiency of vaccine production and reducing costs, thereby further increasing profitability. This is more important to us than simply increasing production volume and market share.”

In addition to sales in Brazil, exports to other Latin American countries continued uninterrupted following the acquisition. 40 million doses of vaccine were sold to Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Venezuela, in line with the prior year’s volumes.

There is very strong political support for vaccination against FMD in Latin America and we are working closely with governments and veterinary authorities. There

is a critical need for high-quality vaccines. With our state-of-the-art production facilities and excellent quality control processes we have a 100% record for successful release of all the batches of vaccine we have produced. Jean-Charles Tissot, Ceva Latin America zone director

With the capacity of the Ceva vaccine production facility at Juatuba in Minas Gerais state standing at around 160 million doses there is still potential to increase sales further, beyond the current total of around 90 million doses per year. Jean-Charles adds: “We are currently in the process of registering our vaccine in other Latin American countries. We are also looking beyond Latin America with a view to selling our FMD antigens to vaccine manufacturers in Asia.”

Ceva Juatuba, Brazil


Ruminant

reprodAction team leap into action, helping customers boost herd fertility

The year 2016 was a challenging one for many dairy farmers throughout the world with milk prices at rock bottom. Fortunately, 2017 saw an upturn in the fortunes of many dairy producers with higher farmgate prices and a generally more positive market for the sector. During 2016, Ceva’s reprodAction team had quietly been making preparations for this eventuality. With a strong portfolio of products, dairy farmers increasingly looking for support, strong commitment from the reprodAction team and a long track-record in helping farmers improve reproductive management of their herds, in contrast to 2016, 2017 was a very busy year for the reprodAction team. ReprodAction, which is short for reproductive management in action, brings together Ceva’s unique ruminant reproduction offering in one coordinated initiative. ReprodAction is defined by three pillars: our complete range of products, our expertise and our innovative view of ruminant reproduction. Those three pillars allow us to offer our customers the most complete range of solutions for ruminant reproduction with the commitment of enhancing overall fertility.

Two key areas of focus for reprodAction are management of ‘open’ cows and replacement heifers. Open cows (animals that are neither pregnant nor milking) cost money, they must be looked after but are not generating any income. Rapidly identifying these animals, deciding what to do with them and, if appropriate, taking urgent steps to get them in calf is a priority for herd managers. Similarly, managing replacement heifers to ensure they calve at the optimal time is essential for a profitable herd.

During 2017, the reprodAction team were extremely active carrying out an extensive global training program for farmers and vets, and Ceva staff. Some highlights included:

The first Italian reprodAction Workshop, held in Rome in October 2017. Thirty-eight veterinarians, coming from all over Italy, attended a three-day workshop which focused on management of reproduction in high producing dairy cattle. Alessio Valenza and Federico Randi, Ceva Global Technical Managers, and Giorgio

Valla, Technical Manager at Ceva Italy addressed many technical topics such as: bovine oestrus cycle and synchronization protocols for fixed time-artificial insemination (AI) through use of PRID® Delta ; the impact of infectious diseases on reproductive performance, focusing on bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and Coxiella burnetii infections; treatment options and the best way to prevent disease through vaccination with Mucosiffa® & Coxevac®; and even the management of heat stress. Overall, the importance of improving reproductive performances for the sustainability and productivity of dairy farmers was emphasised.

Meanwhile, Ceva’s ruminant team in Germany held the first reprodAction Expert Forum in Dusseldorf on the importance of identifying non-pregnant cows as early as possible after insemination, attended by an invited audience made up of leaders from universities, insemi-nation centres, breeding societies and influential vet practices. The team also held a press conference and a technical presentation about the anoestrus cow and


the PRID® DELTA success story for a dozen German and Austrian journalists representing the most important farming magazines from Germany and Austria.

The ruminant team strongly believes that the reprodAction forum and press conference represent important milestones in the

recognition of Ceva as the specialist in cattle reprodAction in Germany and Austria. Alessio Valenza, Ceva ruminant offer conception manager

During 2017 the busy reprodAction team also organised and ran events in Romania and Bulgaria, and an event for Spanish vets was held in Rome. A symposium in

Greece attracted 35 vets, while a symposium titled ‘Reducing the calving interval in 2017’ was attended by 150 Irish vets.

Summing up the achievements of reprodAction during 2017, Ceva’s Ruminants Corporate Marketing Director, Juan Munoz-Bielsa said:

It’s been a good year. The reprodAction team can feel proud that by helping our customers we have also done well

for the company. The team have shown a strong commitment to the ruminant reproduction sector and have created a very strong presence in the market. Juan Munoz-Bielsa, Ceva ruminant corporate marketing director



Companion animal



“Save the couches” with FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY®

Cats are territorial animals and mark their territory to orient themselves. When they scratch, they leave both visual and olfactory messages, the latter includes the emission of pheromones from their paw pads. When cats are stressed they tend to scratch the furniture in the house more intensely. More than half of cat owners complain about this behaviour and often feel helpless to stop it.

FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY® was designed to address this concern. The product works by emitting a message of both a visual (blue lines) and olfactory nature, which encourages the cat to scratch at a location chosen by the owner, such as on a scratching post rather than the couch. This allows the owner to respect the cat’s natural needs, since the “normal” scratching is not prevented, but simply redirected to a suitable surface.

Clinical trials have proven that FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY® effectively reduces or eliminates unwanted scratching on vertical and horizontal surfaces. More than 8 out of 10 cats started using their scratching posts within 7 days of using the product. It comes in an easy to use pack of 9 pipettes that are applied once a day during the 1st week, then once a week during week 3 and week 4. It is available from veterinarians, pet shops, specialty stores and online retail sites.

Companion animal


The expansion of our pheromone range through innovation and marketing excellence, is a major growth driver for our companion

animal business. We aim to continue to develop the calming category, with the addition of convenient solutions for our customers and their beloved pets to ensure they stay “happy together” , protecting the essential human-animal bond.François Bost, Ceva companion animal corporate marketing director

FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY®

has a particularly important role to play in the United States to help prevent declawingWhen it comes to animal welfare, FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY® has a decisive role to play in the American market. For years, many owners have resorted to surgery to amputate young cats’ claws; 20 million cats in the US are declawed. The practice is considered to be unnecessary and harmful by all experts in the field of feline welfare. The American Association of Feline Practitioners, which strongly opposes declawing, suggests pheromone products as one of the alternatives to declawing. Ceva has made a number of materials available to make cat owners aware that declawing can permanently harm cat health and welfare http://www.savethecouches.com


2017: the year of Catego®, an innovative and easy to use feline parasiticide Cats have an important place in our society, with numbers growing very rapidly in many countries. As a result the market is also expanding, with owners more and more concerned about their cat’s health and well-being. With the launch of both FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY® and Catego®, this market held our full attention in 2017.

Helping to ensure the quality of the relationship between humans and companion animals is one of the 3 priorities set out in Ceva’s vision. Ceva began its focus on the need to add improved feline medicines with the introduction of the FELIWAY® product line, which was enriched this year by the arrival of FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY®.

Our companion animal teams have also focused recent research and development on the introduction of parasiticides. In 2017, Ceva USA launched Catego®, the first fast-acting topical against fleas and ticks specially designed for cats.

This new product is remarkably effective against fleas and ticks. It is 97% effective at 3 hours, and 100% starting from the 6th hour. That’s a feat for this class of drugs, which are usually far less fast-acting.

Catego® not only kills fleas by contact, but also breaks their life cycle, thus preventing any form of re-infestation. As for ticks, it is effective even before they bite. That is an asset, since we know that these parasitesw are carriers of zoonotic diseases that can sometimes be difficult to treat, such as Lyme disease.

Companion animal


Catego® is suitable for all cats and kittens weighing more than 0.7 kg and over 8 weeks old. The patented applicator tip allows for easy application on the skin and minimizes the risk of skin abrasion. Each dose has a one-month duration of action.

Catego® has been the subject of digital and television advertising campaigns aimed at the general public, which have stirred the interest of cat owners by highlighting its rapid action. The launch of this innovative product is the result of the commitment of a close-knit team whose work has fired local and corporate imaginations.

The launch of this innovative product is the result of a strong commitment from a cohesive team that

brought together both local and global thinking. But mostly, it is the result of the close collaboration that we were able to create with our customers.Shane Fairchild, Ceva US companion animal marketing manager


With DOUXO®, Ceva becomes a major player in the dermatology fieldSkin conditions such as itching, redness and hair loss are very common, especially in dogs (they are the second-biggest reason for appointments with veterinarians). Pet owners are very sensitive to these diseases, because a beautiful coat is viewed as a sign of good health. These skin conditions can also negatively affect interactions between humans and animals, thus damaging the quality of family life.

To respond to this situation, the Dermatology team at the Ceva Sogeval Campus developed a unique product line, which takes into account the specific nature of each animal. The DOUXO® range offers not only a shampoo, but also includes innovative no-rinse solutions that are easy to use (‘like stroking’): mousses, sprays (micro-emulsions), impregnated cotton swabs (pads) and pipettes (spot-ons).

The feline and canine skin barrier is vital in protecting them against penetration by microbes, allergens and toxins. It also helps to retain water within the body.

The DOUXO® formulas developed and patented by our teams are designed to provide complete protection for the skin barrier ecosystem of dogs and cats. They act on four levels:

The Pyo line helps restore the balance of skin flora

The Calm line soothes sensitive skin

The Seb line regulates excess fat and controls bad odours

The Care line permits frequent cleaning of the skin and ears

Having well understood the need for well being of both animals and

their owners, the DOUXO® range has grown quickly all around the world. Mélanie Bélliard, Ceva companion animal corporate marketing manager - dermatology & antiinfective

The products are now available in 42 countries, with a leading position in France and the USA, and have been endorsed by leading veterinary dermatologists.

Companion animal


The success enjoyed by DOUXO® in the USA is consistent with our teams’ commitment to serving our customers to promote animal welfare more effectively

In 2017, Ceva USA sales of DOUXO® grew by 33%. This impressive performance is the result of the threefold conviction that motivates our teams:

The animal health industry should treat animal welfare and the quality of human/animal relationships as a priority.

Veterinarians should be our special partners. Our understanding of health issues reveals their complexity each day; they are the result of numerous interactions, and that makes it vital for us to partner with specialists working in the field.

Finally, it is not only necessary for laboratories to develop good products that are easy to use, but also to set up support programs that bring together veterinarians, animal owners and our teams.

The success we have been posting in the United States is particularly encouraging. It reflects the efforts our teams have made in committing to this process.

It is a process that is based on the idea that we can only achieve success together - in the service of both human and animal welfare.



Together, beyond animal

health


Ceva-sponsored Animal Welfare awards go globalSince 2012, Ceva has been proudly sponsoring the annual UK Animal Welfare Awards, which showcase, reward and celebrate the outstanding work that individuals and organisations do to improve animal welfare.

In 2017, the 8th annual UK awards ceremony went ahead as usual but in addition a brand-new event was held that year to shine the spotlight on veterinary professionals from all around the world who have provided outstanding and exemplary welfare-related services. Co-founded with the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and supported by Ceva, the first global WVA Animal Welfare Awards ceremony was held during the 33rd World Veterinary Congress in Incheon, Korea. Just like the UK awards, the global awards identified some remarkable individuals and enabled their inspirational stories of outstanding commitment to animal welfare to be told and celebrated.

The WVA applauds this partnership with Ceva Animal Health to recognize veterinarians from around the world for their efforts to improve animal welfare and eliminate animal suffering. Such recognition is not only important, it is necessary to bring continued awareness to the benefits of good animal welfare for animals, people and society. It is well recognized that good animal care can have far reaching and positive benefits in a number of areas, including human physical and psychological health, social development, poverty and hunger reduction, disaster management and environmental sustainability.

René Carlson, Immediate past President, WVA



Ceva-sponsored Animal Welfare awards go global

I am very proud that as Chairman of Ceva, we are able to accompany the World Veterinary Association (WVA) in the creation of these important new awards. As a veterinarian, I have felt for some time that the profession needed to bring welfare back to the centre of what they do. Animals contribute enormous value to our society and as veterinarians we have a pivotal role to protect their health and welfare. Through these prizes, we want to reward veterinarians from around the world who distin-guished themselves outstandingly in this cause. Marc Prikazsky, Chairman & CEO of Ceva

At the center, Marlyn Romero, ColombiaWVA Animal Welfare Awards 2017


Winners were selected after thorough vetting of all the nominees by a WVA committee. One winner was selected from each of the six regions covering North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, North Africa/Middle East and Asia/Oceania. In addition to a certificate, each winner received a monetary award of 5,000 Euros.

The 6 winners of the WVA Animal Welfare Awards for 2017 Award were:

Dr Joseph Othieno from Kenya, who has raised awareness of animal health issues in Kenya through his veterinary work and on a wider scale through his journalism. As well as being a respected veterinarian, he regularly writes articles on veterinary issues in newspapers and makes regular appearances on television.

Dr Sean Wensley from the UK, who devoted much of his professional life to the issue of animal welfare. He worked on various international welfare projects as a young volunteer veterinarian. He is currently Senior

Vice President of the British Veterinary Association and has been active in promoting that organisation’s strategy on animal welfare and promoting the five welfare needs, necessary for the physical health and mental wellbeing of animals in the UK’s Animal Welfare regulations.

Dr Marlyn Romero from Colombia, who was nominated for the Awards following her work in Colombia and Latin America on research into animal welfare issues, particularly in slaughterhouses. She has authored numerous publications on the subject and is leading a research group looking at animal welfare on the theme of ‘One Health’.

Dr Daniel Ventura from the Philippines, who was cited for his work in promoting animal health in his home country, particularly in the field of veterinary education and spearheading a steering committee that has promoted the adoption of a syllabus entitled ’Advanced Concepts in Animal Welfare’. He has also led a campaign called ‘Better Lives for Dogs’ and recently organised a


Dr Joseph Othieno, KenyaWVA Animal Welfare Awards 2017


mass rabies vaccination day for dogs and their owners in Cebu City, Philippines.

Professor Johann (Hans) Coetzee from USA, who has been active in animal welfare for many years, particu-larly in the area of cattle where he has led research looking at ways of advancing methods to treat livestock better. Key examples of his work include co-founding the biannual International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare. He has also been involved in work looking at the subject of pain management issues in the production of farm animals and has been a regular commentator in the media on these subjects.

Dr Shehab Osman from Egypt, who was nominated for his work as Chairman of the Cairo Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and for promoting a variety of animal welfare issues in his country and on the international scene. He also advises Egyptian government departments and health authorities on a number of areas, including the

management of stray dogs which is a huge problem in Egypt. He also acted as Chairman of the Egyptian Federation for Animal Welfare for four years.

I am delighted and honoured to present here today the 2017 WVA Animal Welfare Awards to six remarkable veterinarians from across the world, who are contributing in their daily lives to the protection and welfare of various species of animals.

René Carlson, Immediate past President, WVA

Looking ahead, the 2018 WVA Animal Welfare Awards will be presented during the 34th World Veterinary Congress being held in Barcelona, Spain in May. Once again, Ceva will be proud to support the event.

Dr Sean Wensley, UKWVA Animal Welfare Awards 2017


Ceva renews its commitment towards agrobiodiversity alongside the Fondation du PatrimoineOne of the primary roles of the agriculture is to provide people with enough food to eat that is safe, affordable and can be produced in a sustainable way. Feeding a global population of around 10 billion in 2050 is a demanding challenge that will require the development of new practices adapted to the extraordinary diversity of economic, social and cultural canvases that make up world agriculture.



Ceva renews its commitment towards agrobiodiversity alongside the Fondation du Patrimoine

In this context, Ceva’s vision is to support all forms of agriculture, giving particular attention to:

Animal welfare, a notion that must be a common thread, no matter what the size or form of agriculture

Preservation of agrobiodiversity as the major bulwark of our ecosystem’s protection.

These 2 reasons explain Ceva’s long-standing commitment to the “Fondation du Patrimoine National Animal Agrobiodiversity Prize” under the patronage of the French Ministry of Agriculture, first awarded in 2012.

The annual prize recognises the original actions of farmers or associations to preserve and promote French

rare breeds and their unique genetic heritage: cattle, goats, horses, sheep, pigs, poultry, working dogs and other farm animals.

The 5th edition of the prize, organized during the Paris International Agricultural Show, rewarded 3 associations committed to preserving regional livestock breeds: Sasi Ardi Sheep from the Pyrenees (1st prize), Moka Cattle from Reunion Island (2nd) and Boulonnais Sheep from the north of France (3rd). The judging panel also decided to award an exceptional Grand Prix d’Honneur to the Pas Bête la Fête Association, the organizers of the Nantaise Cattle and Local Breeds Festival, to encourage their efforts in the protection, awareness and promotion of rare breeds.


Far from home: traditional French mountain cattle breeds help boost milk production in West AfricaSince 2015, Ceva received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to train vets and boost dairy and poultry production and health in Bangladesh and Burkina Faso. The project in Burkina Faso aims to improve milk production of the local zebu cows by crossbreeding them with a suitable dairy breed, taking advantage of Ceva’s world-beating expertise in the management of cattle breeding.

Burkina Faso, like other West African countries, has lots of cattle but locally produced milk is sufficient to meet only about 10% of local demand. As a result, fresh milk can often be hard to find, prices are high and the country spends around USD 20 million a year on imports of powdered milk and other dairy products.

One reason for this milk deficit is that the vast majority of Burkina Faso’s cows are low-yielding, zebus, typically producing

up to 2-3 litres of milk per day. In compa-rison, in industrialized countries, average production from dairy breeds is around 40 litres a day. On the plus side, however, the local zebu is very well adapted to the harsh local environment. Marie Ducrotoy, Ceva project manager Public Health

One solution to Burkina Faso’s national milk deficit is to crossbreed the low-yielding local cows with more productive dairy breeds. The most convenient way of doing this is through artificial insemination (AI), using semen from carefully selected bulls from a suitable breed.

While crossbreeding has no impact on the milk yield of the inseminated cow, crossbred calves that are born following AI will inherit characteristics from both parents, including for females the potential for higher milk yields.

Since 2016, Ceva has been applying its expertise in managing reproduction in cattle in a project seeking to boost milk production in Burkina Faso. The aim is to produce 1200 female and 1200 male crossbreds.

The choice of breed for the donor bulls is critical. Perhaps surprisingly, the breeds selected for crossing with the Burkinabe cows in the project are two traditional French breeds, the Tarentaise and Montbéliarde. The Tarentaise was originally bred in the Tarentaise valley in the French Alps, while the Montbéliarde originated in the mountain valleys and foothills of the Franche-Comté region, close to the Swiss border. Although both breeds originated in areas a long way away from Burkina Faso, both have characteristics which make them very well adapted to the local environment and farming system.

The Ceva team travelled to Burkina Faso in late 2016 to lay the foundations for the ‘Vache du Faso’ project. This involved mobilizing the Fula pastoralists and providing training for the local AI technicians.

Building on Ceva’s expertise in the management of reproduction in cattle, the first step was to use Ceva products to synchronise the reproductive cycles of cows



selected for the project – the very best local zebus. This meant that all the cows could be inseminated at the same time using imported semen from Tarentaise or Montbéliarde bulls..

The first batch of 400 synchronised cows was inseminated in November 2016; half of those not pregnant were re-inseminated in January 2017, resulting in 210 pregnancies. This conception rate of over 50% is consi-derably higher than the 30% usually achieved locally. Nine months later, in August 2017, the first crossbred calves were born: 45 singletons and 3 sets of twins amongst the first batch to be born.The female calves will join milking herds after they themselves have a calf. The males will be fattened and sold for meat.

A further 239 cows were inseminated between May and July, this time in peri-urban farms around Bobo Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city.

Another batch of 500 cows was inseminated during five hectic days in September 2017 – a very impressive feat achieved under difficult field conditions, only made possible by the strong team spirit that developed throughout the year as well as the training rolled out the previous year.

For the Fula herders and their families, a conservative estimate suggests that the crossbred cows in Burkina Faso will generate double the income compared to the

local zebus. Furthermore, in a country with a chronic shortage of fresh milk, there is a market for any surplus milk not consumed by the family.

Whilst the target of producing 1200 crossbred females is impressive,the real challenge is maintaining the advantages of these superior dairy genes in the future – which is where many previous initiatives in Africa have failed. It is therefore essential that a very clear genetic exit strategy is established before the end of the project and that the necessary training and groundwork has been undertaken to ensure a healthy population of cattle can be maintained in the future, benefiting from the genetic heritage of both the local zebu and exotic dairy breed.

In 2015, Ceva received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to roll out three targeted development projects corresponding to Ceva’s area of expertise and the foundation’s strategy to make smallholder livestock more productive, improve nutrition and empower women farmers.

These projects include initiatives to boost health and production in the poultry and dairy sectors in Burkina Faso and Bangladesh over three years. Ceva is proud to be a beneficiary of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which supports Ceva’s commitment to work together beyond animal health through feeding the world, tackling zoonoses and strengthening the human animal bond.


Ceva develops multiple partnerships to offer health and livestock breeding professionals programs tailored to their needs

Pierre-Marie Borne, Ceva’s Director of Public Health, Zoonoses and Food Safety at Ceva, was recently a guest speaker at the World Conference on Quality Assurance in Veterinary Education, organized as part of the 33rd World Veterinary Congress held in Incheon, South Korea in August 2017.

During his talk, Pierre-Marie explained that despite their many differences, private companies like Ceva and academic institutions such as veterinary schools have synergistic roles to play in enabling the continuing professional development of veterinarians. By working together, he suggested, the private and public sector could help enhance the veterinarian’s contribution to the important fields of food safety and security, disease control (including zoonotic diseases), human-animal relations and animal welfare.

One Health means approaching things through diverse sanitary, economic and social contexts. This is the basis behind Ceva’s “Together, beyond animal health” social vision, which engages the company to do much more than simply develop effective medicines. Pierre-Marie explained to delegates how the company’s combined offer of highly-specialised tools and manuals and highly-practical training opportunities was playing a vital role in enhancing vet’s skills, knowledge and competencies, building on their initial training and professional experience.

Speaking immediately after the Conference on Quality Assurance, Dr René Carlson, World Veterinary Association Immediate Past President, said: “Ceva has been extremely supportive of animal welfare as well as veterinary education and I think that their approach provides an opportunity for veterinarians around the world to take their basic competencies to advanced levels and really serve public health.”

Thus in 2015 in Myanmar, Ceva created a training cycle for poultry veterinarians in partnership with the National Veterinary School of Alfort and the Nay Pyi Taw College

of Veterinary Sciences. This training cycle gave thirty veterinarians the opportunity to acquire or reinforce their abilities to help small independent farmers better manage their farms in regard to sanitary conditions.

Early results were very encouraging, and have led us to continue this type of commitment, as we did recently in Bangladesh, where malnutrition rates are among the world’s highest. It is estimated that 41% of children under five there suffer from stunted growth. Poultry production is their primary source of animal protein. Such production however is carried out in a difficult epidemiological environment, and, although the sector is organized in regard to reproduction, the rearing of broilers is mainly the work of independent small farmers, who have limited access to specialized veterinary skill in the field.

To remedy this situation, Ceva, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Veterinary School of Maisons-Alfort, and the College of Veterinary Medicine of the Sher-e-Bangla Agricul-tural University of Dhaka, decided to organize intensive courses that would combine theory and practice,



Ceva contributes its specialized technical knowledge, with a focus on practical operational and field-oriented aspects as well as its knowledge and close connections to the markets. The academic partners contribute their technical knowledge and expertise in the design of courses, content and teaching methods. They can also verify and supervise courses to ensure the quality of the training products. The end result is a much stronger, more relevant and better-quality training experience than any of the parties could provide on their own, which is pretty close to the definition of synergy given by the dictionary. Pierre-Marie Borne, Director of Public Health, Zoonoses and Food Safety

while raising farmers’ awareness of livestock health management issues. The possible benefits that are emerging are quite significant, with estimates that these programs will help reduce the mortality rate of broilers, now in the range of 10 to 15%, below the 5% mark. This has been a fruitful approach, and is now to be pursued in Ethiopia, where courses will soon be offered in a partnership with the National Veterinary School of Toulouse (ENVT).

We are convinced that a comprehensive approach to preventative health must involve the development of these types of partnerships on all continents. Some of our other programs include:

Burkina Faso: where Ceva has created specialized training for veterinarians and artificial insemination technicians within the framework of the Vache du Faso project. The project aims to stimulate milk production by crossing local zebu cows with carefully selected traditional French mountain breeds and is also supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Europe: Ceva launched its «Guide for the Rational use of Antimicrobials» (GRAM), a practical, compre-hensive, and easy to use guide to help combat the development of resistance to antibiotics in companion animals. This guide, comprising 550 pages, was developed by an independent panel of 10 experts from 7 European countries.

France: A partnership with Sanders, a major French animal feed company, to develop and supply Indic@Vet, a new tool to monitor the use of antibiotics in animals and evaluate the actions taken to reduce the use of these products.

Argentina: The Ceva Business Program was imple-mented to encourage our customers who are veterinarians to adapt to changes and new techno-logies and develop new tools to deal with their customers in this new era.


Charities the world over face a constant struggle to raise the funds they need to enable them to fulfil their charitable purposes. It’s no different for TOLFA, an animal welfare charity, registered in the UK and India with its operational base in Rajasthan, Northern India. But thanks in part to carefully targeted and ongoing support from Ceva, TOLFA’s fund raising operations and other vital back-office functions have gone from strength to strength. This means that more animals in need are being treated and more people are being educated about kind and safe interaction with animals.

TOLFA, short for Tree of Life for Animals, has a big vision: ‘to bring healing, compassion and hope to India’s sick and injured animals, and empowerment to the commu-nities of which they are a part.’

It brings its vision to life by running a busy animal hospital and rescue centre for owner-less animals that reside on India’s streets; through a rabies eradication programme based on neutering and vaccination of owner-less dogs; by helping local villagers care for their animals; by operating a vet clinic for pet owners; and by teaching children how to become kind and compas-sionate members of society and take care of not only the animals in their locality but to be considerate to the environment and other human beings as well.

TOLFA’s achievements during 2017 were impressive: 5,967 animals admitted to its rescue centre and hospital, 22,497 animals treated through its rural outreach

programme and 5,358 pets treated at its veterinary clinic. In addition, 1,329 school pupils were taught its animal welfare and rabies awareness syllabus.

Ceva’s relationship with TOLFA dates back to 2012 when Rachel Wright, TOLFA’s founder, was recognised as the Welfare Nurse of the Year in the inaugural Ceva Awards for Animal Welfare. Since then the company has provided financial, practical and moral support to the charity.

During 2017, the focus has been on helping TOLFA be more effective in its fund raising so that it can concen-trate on helping more animals and engaging with more communities.

Ceva’s support during the year included contributing towards the salary of Clara Nowak, TOLFA’s executive director in the UK, providing access to a specialist donor management software package and directly sponsoring printing of fundraising calendars and greeting cards.

Ceva’s continuing support helps Indian animal welfare charity to achieve more



Ceva’s continuing support helps Indian animal welfare charity to achieve more

Ceva’s support has made a real difference. Compared to 2015, our grant income in 2017 increased by more than 90%. A single social media campaign, focused on maggot-infected dogs during the post-monsoon season when the risk is especially high, raised in just two weeks enough money to directly help 180 dogs. Clara Nowak, TOLFA’s executive director in the UK


The state of Florida was hard hit when Hurricane Irma hit at the end of August and many residents were forced to evacuate without their animals. Ceva’s rapid response team distributed, pheromones, parasiticides and dermatology products throughout the southeast.

Lessons shared by the Texas based team during Hurricane Harvey helped the team in the Southeast proactively prepare to respond to the storm. Before

the hurricane hit, the local Ceva team reached out to state veterinary medical associations, shelters and clinics with information on what could be provided and how to stay in touch as the storm came ashore. This made it much easier to mobilize donations as soon as the weather improved. While distributing supplies for Hurricane Harvey relief, Ceva employees heard time and time again that they were the first animal health company to deliver supplies into the area in south Texas most devastated by the hurricane.

Ceva’s US Team helps animal shelters through 2 major hurricane disasters



The hurricanes came through regions where heartworm disease is the most common in the U.S. To help prevent the spread of the disease, Ceva provided doses of Vectra 3D® to prevent the spread of heartworm disease during transportation and in shelters taking in these displaced animals. Ceva also worked with relief agencies to produce new guidelines to reduce the possibility of heartworm disease transmission when transporting animals. These guidelines have subsequently been approved for all emergency situations, with the recommendation to immediately treat dogs coming into a shelter’s care with an appropriate topical parasiticide.

Our entire team pitched in to ensure we were in a position to help. Many customers and shelters told us we were the first to offer support and the first to arrive with product to help their efforts. The clean-up from this storm will continue for months and we have plans in place for a sustained relief effort. Jeff McCaughey, VP of Companion Animal Sales


Ceva embarks on a major new partnership with Dogs for Good

Living up to its Together, beyond animal health’ vision, Ceva has recently embarked on a major new long-term partnership with the UK charity Dogs for Good. The charity enables adults and children who live with a wide range of physical and mental health issues to live more fulfilling and independent lives through carefully planned interventions with dogs. This exciting new partnership will see Ceva provide financial, practical and moral support through a coordinated programme that aims to help Dogs for Good transform the lives of even more people in the future.

For people to meet their responsibilities and understand the role of the dog as a companion and co-worker they need to have the most up to date information covering the basics of healthcare,

socialisation, behaviour, social networks and canine cognition amongst other topics. We have a growing responsibility to provide this information within our own sphere of operation but it is clear that the information would be of interest and value to the wider world of those living and working with dogs. Those searching for this information can find a plethora of fragmented and disjointed sources of information which are usually slanted to reflect the interests of the providers. While an excellent information service concerning cats is provided by International Cat Care, no such database of information, pulled together and accessible in one place, currently exists for dogs. Peter Gorbing, Chief Executive of Dogs for Good

For 30 years Dogs for Good has

brought greater independence and

companionship to many people

through partnerships with highly

trained assistance dogs. Building on

their experience of training and

working with assistance dogs over

the years inspired them to explore

other ways dogs can help individuals,

families and communities. Today

Dogs for Good uses creative and

inspiring partnerships between

people and dogs to meet the diverse

needs of those with physical disabi-

lities, learning disabilities, autism,

dementia and those living the

after-effects of stroke and other

debilitating diseases.



To kick-start our new partnership, in December 2017 Ceva made a donation to enable Dogs for Good to start work on

its ambitious programme of work to establish the charity as the ‘go to’ source of trusted, authoritative information on all aspects of dogs. Our investment has enabled work to begin on pulling together and packaging the information Dogs for Good already has available, identifying and addressing gaps, and making this information available in accessible and engaging ways through a well-designed online platform. Martin Mitchell, Ceva group communication director

But for Martin that is just the start: “For some years now Ceva has been a passionate advocate of human-animal relations. Dogs for Good epitomises the concept of the human-animal bond in practice so I am really excited about working with them in the coming years. The support they provide to individuals and families affected by a wide range of health issues is awe inspiring but as a company we are especially keen to support their pioneering work with families with autistic children.”

One way that Dogs for Good provide support to families with a child with autism is by providing fully-trained assistance dogs. These dogs can make a huge difference to the lives of families with a child with autism but training the dogs takes nearly two years and is expensive meaning only a limited number of families can benefit.

Ten years ago, the charity began to realise that perhaps not all children with autism needed an assistance dog; simply having a well-trained pet dog in the home might also be beneficial. Dogs for Good therefore teamed up with the National Autistic Society and the

University of Lincoln for a three-year research project investigating how dogs can affect children with autism and impact on the family unit as a whole. The University of Lincoln’s Dr Daniel Mills, who specialises in animal behaviour and in exploring the potential benefits of keeping animals, is an old friend of Ceva.

The ground-breaking study, led by Dr Mills, confirmed that pet dogs can have a highly positive effect on autistic children and the whole family unit. Some of the findings from the study, for which 500 dog owning families with autistic children were surveyed, included:

85% reported their child was happier in the presence of the family dog

60% reported their child was less likely to have a meltdown

of 62 families tracked before and after they got a dog, 69% of parents showed reduced stress levels within 10 weeks of getting their pet

The project’s research findings provided a solid foundation on which Dogs for Good built their Family Dog Service. The result is that the charity has been able to support many more families with a child with autism: while Dogs for Good has provided around 80 fully-trained assistance dogs, they have helped some 800 families benefit from pet dogs through their Family Dog Service.

Children with autism tend to be anxious, can be withdrawn, often display repetitive behaviours and are prone to ‘melt-downs’ when they become overwhelmed by their surroundings. The presence of a well-trained pet dog can help them feel much less anxious, encourage them to become more engaged and motivated, can disrupt repetitive behaviours and generally promotes a calmer environment that benefits the whole family both in the home and outside.

Going forward, one area in which Ceva hopes to support Dogs for Good is in developing an online learning resource so that even more families with a child with autism can enjoy the benefits that a carefully chosen and properly trained and managed pet dog can bring.


After success with assistance dog Lola, Ceva Australia is keen to extend partnership with Assistance Dogs Australia

In 2016, Ceva Australia committed to sponsoring the training of an assistance dog in partnership with Assistance Dogs Australia. From the outset, Ceva staff were fully onboard; they held a competition for the honour of naming the golden retriever pup – the winner chose Lola – and closely followed progress throughout the two-year training period and beyond. Now fully trained, Lola has a full-time role as an assistance dog at North Gosford Training Centre, a special school that caters for children aged 10-16 years with a history of behavioural difficulties or emotional disturbances. Proud of the part they have played in enabling Lola to be trained, Ceva Australia is now looking for ways to extend its relationship with this inspiring charity.

Since 1996 the charity Assistance Dogs Australia has been training and making available assistance dogs to people living with a wide range of disabilities, thereby providing them with greater freedom and independence. To date, over 200 dogs have been provided by the charity, entirely free of charge, to both individuals as well as care institutions and special schools. With each dog costing over AUD 35,000 (USD 27,500) up to the point it is placed with its new owner, Assistance Dogs relies entirely on donations to fund its vital work.

We chose Assistance Dogs because it was nicely in line with Ceva’s focus on human-animal interaction.

Chris Abbott, Ceva Australia & New Zealand country manager



Lola’s role at North Gosford is supported by many studies that have shown that a dog in the classroom at special schools can provide significant benefits including offering emotional support, recognising signs of anxiety and helping improve concentration and communication skills, as well as reducing the incidence of antisocial behaviour and bullying.

Spurred on by Lola’s success and proud of the impact she has had on the children’s lives, Ceva Australia is now looking at ways to extend the journey they have begun

We will certainly sponsor another dog, but we are also talking to Assistance Dogs about how we can maybe help them use Adaptil® to support the training and help with some of the stress these dogs encounter during their day-to-day lives.

Mother dogs communicate with their puppies through natural messages released into the air. These “comforting messages“ are scientifically called Dog Appeasing Pheromones. These canine odorless messages are only perceived by dogs, not people or cat and provide a strong signal of security and comfort to puppies and dogs of all ages.

Adaptil® helps dogs feel calm and relaxed at all times, especially in challenging situations.


With the launch of VERYL® and VerYDiag®, Ceva continues to lead innovation in the fight against trypanosomosis, an endemic disease which deprives Africa of precious food resources

The parasitic disease trypanosomosis, spread in Africa by biting tsetse flies, is a major constraint to cattle production. Losses due to the disease in Africa alone are estimated to exceed USD 1 billion a year and the disease also impacts on cattle production in South America.

Unusually for an international animal health company, for more than a decade Ceva has steadily invested in research and development which has led to the launch of a wide range of products to help vets and cattle keepers in Africa and South America fight back against this disease. In mid-2016, this included the launch of the first-ever penside test for trypanosomosis, VerYDiag®. Eighteen months later, VerYDiag® has been well received by vets, NGOs, animal health institutions and farmers. And Ceva’s R&D pipeline continues to deliver.

Losses due to the disease in Africa alone are estimated to exceed USD 1 billion a year, a loss difficult to accept in a region with close to 250 million under-nourished people Thomas Palliargue, Ceva ruminant marketing and technical director for AMEET zone



The launch of this innovative product in 2017 follows the introduction of VerY Diag®

in 2016Having available the latest innovative treatments such as VERYL® is one thing, but making the correct diagnosis under field conditions in Africa, where several similar bloodborne diseases can affect cattle concurrently, is much more complex. That’s why, Ceva’s introduction of the VerYDiag testkit marked a significant step forward in the control of this major disease. The kit was the result of several years’ of collaborative research with a number of expert partners: GALVmed, CIRAD and the University of Bordeaux.

As Cyrille Chevtzoff, Ceva’s Ruminant Vet Service Manager for Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Turkey Africa, explains: “Not only is VeryDiag® the first penside test for trypanosomosis, it is the first commercially available penside test for any livestock disease in Africa, so this is a big step forward. We are therefore introducing a totally new concept to our veterinary colleagues in Africa and we are still in the promotion phase. But already there is a lot of interest in the product and it has been very well received.”

VeryDiag® needs just one drop of blood, requires no specialist equipment or knowledge, and gives a definitive result in around 10 minutes.This allows professionals to prescribe the appropriate treatment and is especially important in helping cattle owners to recognise symptoms of the disease before the clinical signs appear.

One enthusiastic advocate of the new test is Dr J. Henri Pell-Minhiaud, the president of the association of private veterinary practitioners of Ivory Coast:

For my part, I believe that the approach to the diagnosis of bovine trypanosomiasis in the field with VerYDiag® is revolutionary and should be adopted by veterinary practi-tioners as it has many benefits.

Dr J. Henri Pell-Minhiaud, President of the association of private veterinary practitioners of Ivory Coast

Ceva introduced a new combination product, VERYL® which simultaneously treats cattle for trypanosomosis and internal parasites.VERYL® is a unique formulation that combines a tried and tested drug to treat trypanosomosis, diminazene aceturate, with a medication used to treat parasitic worm infections, levamisole.

Animals infected with gastrointestinal parasites are often much more susceptible to trypanosome infec-

tion and show greater clinical signs as trypanosomes reduce immune responses. After extensive research and development, Ceva has therefore introduced this exciting new combi-nation product that offers exceptional efficacy against both trypanosomes and gastrointestinal parasites. Treat-ment with VERYL® eliminates the parasites and stimulates the immune system enabling infected cattle to recover more quickly and return to full productivity. Cyrille Chevtzoff, Ceva ruminant vet service manager for AMEET zone

VerYDiag®, a diagnostic kit opening up new horizons….Since its introduction in 2016, we now have some great examples of how the test has been used in different countries:

In Burkina Faso and Mali, where a cattle genetic improvement programme is underway. Infection with trypanosomes, the parasites that cause trypanosomosis, can reduce fertility. So, before cows are inseminated with semen from carefully selected bulls of improved breeds, VerYDiag® is used. Any cows which test positive are treated with a trypanocidal drug, such as Veriben®, before artificial insemination (AI) is carried out.

Previously, in some regions of Senegal and Cameroon it was thought that trypanosomosis occurred only at some times of the year. Careful testing with the VerYDiag® has revealed, however, that cattle can be infected throughout the year. This finding has enabled vets and herders to treat their animals earlier, before clinical signs are obvious, thereby minimising any reduction in productivity.


Avian Flu: a growing challenge for AfricaHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was first reported in Africa in 2006 but the number of reported outbreaks in poultry started to rise in 2015 with a sharp increase in 2017 – from just 2 reported outbreaks in 2013, to 71 reports in 2015 and 216 in 2017. The vast majority of Africa’s poultry are in small backyard, village and semi-commercial flocks, although these often coexist alongside large, ultra-modern poultry farms, making effective control of the disease very difficult. The situation is exacerbated by technical, logistic and financial challenges facing most African countries. Maintaining ongoing disease surveillance, ensuring effective biosecurity and movement control measures are in place to prevent and contain outbreaks, and undertaking effective culling, decontamination and restocking operations when outbreaks occur are all an ongoing struggle.



Since 2006, the H5N1, H5N2 and H5N8 strains of HPAI have been officially reported in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo and Zimbabwe. In addition, the H7N1 strain has been reported in Algeria in 2016 and 2017. During 2017, strains of HPAI were confirmed in 12 African countries spanning North, West and Central, East and Southern Africa. Confirmation of the H5N8 strain in Uganda in 2017 is the first confirmed case in East Africa representing a potential threat to the large poultry industry in the region.

In Egypt, the World Health Organisation (WHO) report that one person died as a result of infection with HPAI (H5N1) in 2017. Previously in Egypt, over 120 people have died from H5N1 with the peak occurring in 2015. The disease is considered to be endemic in the country’s poultry flocks. Other than Egypt, fortunately there have been no other reported human deaths due to HPAI in Africa since 2007, when a single case fatality was reported in Nigeria.

In addition to threats to human life, these HPAI outbreaks have resulted in significant losses due to poultry deaths, culling and impacts on trade, and unquantified impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods.

During 2017, South Africa was particularly severely impacted by HPAI. Outbreaks of the H5N8 strain were reported in commercial chickens, commercial ducks, ostrich, wild birds and in hobby and backyard poultry throughout the country, including Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and Western Cape. In the Western Cape, more than 2 million birds have been killed or culled due to HPAI during 2017 with the economic impact estimated to exceed R800 million (USD 70 million).

With the exception of Egypt, vaccination is not currently allowed against HPAI in any African country. Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco

vaccinate against low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) to protect breeders and commercial layers. There are also reports that, unofficially, vaccination is being used in another country’s commercial poultry sector against LPAI – vivid evidence of farmers’ disarray in the face of avian influenza.

Control of HPAI in Africa depends largely on surveillance and biosecurity and, in the event of an outbreak, movement controls, quarantine, culling and decontamination.

In October 2017, Reza Bentaleb, Africa Poultry Business Unit Manager, took part in Poultry Africa 2017, an expo and leadership conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda. There he shared Ceva’s insights into the changing face of avian influenza and the role that new vaccine technology could play in being part of the solution for Africa’s poultry industry, if this approach was officially sanctioned.

Avian influenza has changed during the past few years. It is now caused by more types of virus and is present in more countries. The risk is much

higher than before, so now is perhaps the time to discard old dogmas and adapt to the new situation. Reza Bentaleb, Ceva poultry business unit manager for Intertropical Africa

Ceva’s new generation vector vaccine - Vectormune® AI - offers real advantages over previously available inactivated whole virus vaccines. It provides strong protection against a wide variety of H5 type HPAI viruses, overcomes maternally-derived antibodies and so can be reliably used in the hatchery.

Ceva already works closely with governments in countries in which HPAI is endemic, such as Egypt, where vaccination can officially be used, helping to ensure that effective vaccination programmes are in place. We are also ready to work with other governments and regional and international authorities to help explore how vaccines might be used in non-endemic countries alongside other methods of control. We believe such an approach could help safeguard human life and protect the poultry industry from crippling economic losses and hard-pressed state veterinary departments from unaffordable costs, without impairing effective disease monitoring in support of the eventual aim of eradicating this devastating disease. Bertrand Le Tallec, Ceva poultry director for AMEET zone


Ceva US continues its work with public health authorities to prevent the spread of a heartworm, a disease causing sudden death in dogs

During 2017, the U.S. team continued spreading the Double Defense® message to help veterinarians and consumers understand the benefits of using Vectra 3D®.

The Double Defense® approach uses a monthly macrocyclic lactone to prevent adult worm development inside the dog as well as Vectra 3D® to kill and repel mosquitos. This approach fights both vectors involved in the spread of heartworm and the parasite that causes the disease. In Dr. John McCall’s research, using Vectra 3D® was shown to be significantly more effective in preventing the spread of heartworm than relying on a macrocyclic lactone alone.



Sales Force ExpansionThe states surrounding the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Delta have the highest incidence of Heartworm in the United States. Many cities and counties in the region reported more than 100 cases per clinic. To promote the Double Defense® approach, this region became the focus of marketing efforts during 2017.

Additional territory managers were added in the Gulf Shores Region to increase Ceva’s ability to work with veterinary clinics in this region. Additionally a strong advertising and public relations campaigns were also conducted to communicate the impor-tance of using a bimodal approach.

These efforts combined to result in strong momentum for the brand. Vectra 3D® dispensing was up 13% in the region.

Heartworm Prevention GuidelinesDuring 2017 several U.S. associations also revised their guidelines to recommend a Double Defense® approach.

The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) revised its heartworm guidelines and introduced the first ever Mosquito Control guidelines. Both documents include information about the importance of killing and repelling mosquitos to prevent vector borne disease.

The American Heartworm Society (AHS) introduced relocation guidelines during the hurricane season to help shelters reduce the risk of infecting dogs they were receiving as well as with dogs they were transporting out of affected areas.

The Mosquito Guidelines and Transportation Guidelines recommend using a topical parasiticide containing dinotefuran, permethrin and pyriproxyfen. When hurricanes hit Texas and Florida, Ceva donated 11,000 doses of Vectra 3D® to shelters in the areas hardest hit to reduce the potential spread of the disease. The team also worked with AHS to ensure shelters in the disaster zones were aware of and followed these guidelines and immediately treated dogs with a topical moxidectin or Vectra 3D® as they were brought into rescue centres.



Financial report

In 2017, the Ceva group saw another year of double-digit growth, exceeding the symbolic watershed of €1 billion in revenue, which will enable us to increase our invest-ments and take advantage of economies of scale.

The strategic acquisitions made at the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017 contributed to growth in turnover totaling 14%. Growth in turnover at constant scope came to 6%, including a negative impact of 3% due to exchange rate fluctuations. Despite these fluctuations, we should emphasize that all our species and geographic areas posted solid growth.

The group’s operating income was up more than 30% on 2016. This confirms, once again, our ability to integrate acquisitions, deliver on our commitments and advance our profitability. On this last point, the improvement of our financial ratios is the happy consequence of the positive trend in our product mix and the economies of scale we are making.

The group’s other financial priority is still to generate and secure our cash flow, which will give us the oppor-

tunity to continue our R&D and industrial investment efforts. In certain higher-risk countries, we have also secured a significant portion of our liquidity.

To maintain our growth and strengthen our profitability, we have launched several performance-driven excel-lence initiatives at all levels of the business (not only in our plants, but in support functions as well). The work we have undertaken, through the program entitled “Quantum: From Data to Value” , will help us to achieve greater data security and harmonization starting in 2018. This will undoubtedly help make our decision-making processes even more efficient.

The steady progress in our results confirms the robustness of Ceva’s business model. We have business today in more than 110 countries, and our expertise is recognized worldwide. The effort we put into maintaining our ability to innovate and operate flexibly, while maximizing our collaborative work as an ecosystem, are the best drivers of success in an increasingly complex environment.

Alain de Woillemont, Group CFO


Key figures* (M€)

Turnover for the year totaled €1099 million in 2017, + 20% compared to €912.3 million in 2016 and + 9% at constant scope and exchange rates.

Operating profit rose by nearly 31%, to €205.2 million, compared to €156.9 million in 2016. At constant exchange rates and scope, the Group’s operating profit grew by +17.5%.

Consolidated Profit & Loss account Senior Mendel / Consolidated Balance sheet Ceva

2015 2016 2017

Property, Plant and Equipment Investments 38.8 47.5 65.3

Intangible Investments 21.1 25.6 25.1

Financial Investments 7.3 194.1 165

Total Investments 67.3 267.2 255.5


* Excluding capitalised R&D, which if included brings this figure close to 10% of sales.

Investments (M€)

129.6 M€

156.9 M€

205.2 M€

150.0 M€

179.4 M€

238.8 M€

2015 2015

2015 2015

2016 2016

2016 2016

11.9%

2017 2017

2017 2017

6.5%

20.5%

856.4 M€

912.3 M€

1 099.0 M€

77.8 M€

77.6 M€

92.8 M€

SalesSales I Sales annual increase in %

Research & developmentR&D*/Sales I Growth in R&D spend

Operating profitOperating profit/Sale I Operating profit Growth

EBITDAEBITDA/Sales I EBITDA Growth

15.1% I 9.1%

17.2% I 21.1%

18.7% I 30.8%

17.5% I 8.9%

19.7% I 19.6%

21.7% I 33.2%

9.1% I 10.7%

8.5% I -0.3%

8.4% I 19.6%


Financial StructureCapital employed (M€)


2015

2016

2017

2015

2016

2017

2015

2016

2017

Fixed Assets WCR (Working Capital Requirement) Other Current Assets & Liabilities

Total capital expenditure

520.0 M€ 146.6 M€

666.7 M€

788.5 M€

975.5 M€

168.4 M€

205.9 M€

956.9 M€

1 181.4 M€

Financing (M€)

2015

2016

2017

2015

2016

2017

Stockholders’ Equity, Group Share Net Debt

Minority Shareholders and other long term liability

Total Financing

2015 2015

2016 2016

2017 2017

256.1 M€ 367.4 M€

43.2 M€ 666.7 M€

318.1 M€

349.8 M€

566.4 M€

698.1 M€

72.5 M€

133.5 M€

956.9 M€

1 181.4 M€


Sales and operations activity per zone

Employees by service

M€ 2017 % 2016 % Variation % 2017/16

Zone Europe 377.6 34% 331.0 36% 46.7 14%

Zone Africa, Middle-East, Eastern Europe and Turkey 209.9 19% 201.0 22% 8.9 4%

Zone Asia 147.5 13% 102.1 11% 45.4 45%

Zone Latin America 165.2 15% 96.2 11% 69.0 72%

Zone North America - Pacific 173.8 16% 160.2 18% 13.6 8%

Sub-total Zones 1 074.1 98% 890.5 98% 183.6 21%

Other activities (inc. trade, toll manufacturing) 24.9 2% 21.8 2% 3.0 14%

Consolidated total 1 099.0 100% 912.3 100% 186.6 20%

2015 2016 2017

Industry / Supply Chain 1 326 2 046 2 200

Sales / Marketing 1 482 1 913 2 147

Administrative 457 545 611

Research & Development 514 546 619

Total employees2015

2016

2017

3 779

5 050

5 578





Key products performanceThe year 2017 was marked by strong growth in all areas in the Swine segment (+66%, of which +258% for vaccines), particularly in Asia and Europe.

Sales in the Ruminant sector rose by 40%, thanks in particular to strong growth in Latin America (+ 231%), driven by the acquisition of the Brazilian companies Hertape and Inova, and in Europe (+ 26%)

Sales in the Companion Animals sector grew by 12%, with particularly good performance in the «Behaviour» (+11%) and «Antiparasitic» (+11%) ranges, and the new vaccines segment. Sales grew by 9% in Europe.

Driven by our strategic vaccines, sales in the Poultry sector grew by 8% overall, up 19% in Asia and up 16% in Latin America.



Expenses

Research and Development expensesCeva’s Pharmaceutical Unit R&D positively contributed to the group’s growth, bringing five significant new products to market:

Zeleris®: a new product for the treatment of bovine pneumonia, with an original approach, using an antibiotic not used in humans.

Forceris®: an innovative product for the treatment of anaemia and parasitic disease in piglets obtained its first marketing authorizations in Mexico and Peru.

Zelys®: a new medication in the cardiology product line, with a European marketing authorization.

VerY Diag®: A world first in the provision of veterinary diagnostics with the development off the first field kit for the identificationof cattle trypanosomosis in Africa.

FELISCRATCH by FELIWAY®: a new pheromone in Ceva’s portfolio for cats, used to redirect scratching to a specific location. Ceva is the clear world leader in pet behaviour and welfare.

In the Biology field, the group continued its geogra-phical expansion by registering poultry and swine vaccines in numerous non-EU countries.

Gross margin

2015

2016

2017

513.8 M€

564.0 M€

684.3 M€

Gross margin I % Sales

60.0% I 11.1%

61.8% I 9.8%

62.3% I 21.3%

The published gross margin rate increased by 0.5 points to 62.3% of net turnover, despite the heavy negative impact of currencies on margins (-1 point). The increase in the margin rate can be explained by a favourable and also below product mix (+1.5 impact points), an increase in sale prices (+0.4 points), a favorable industrial variance of +0.1 points and an effect of -0.5 points due to acquisitions for the year.



Commercial expensesCommercial expenses rose by nearly €35 million, with savings of 1 point compared to 2016, amounting to 23.5% of sales.

Distribution expensesThe distribution expense-to-sales ratio represented 3.9% of net sales in 2017, stable compared to 2016. The efforts made by the dedicated working group are bearing fruit and distribution expenses have now returned to 2014 rates.


Other expenses and income

Consolidated pre-tax profitM€ 2015 2016 2017

Sales 856.4 912.3 1 099.0

Gross margin 513.8 564.0 684.3

% sales 60.0% 61.8% 62.3%

Distribution expenses (37.4) (36.5) (43.4)

% sales -4.4% -4.0% -3.9%

Commercial expenses (209.2) (223.0) (257.8)

% sales -24.4% -24.4% -23.5%

Administrative & general expenses (60.8) (65.9) (74.1)

Research & Development expenses (77.8) (77.6) (92.8)

Operating margin 128.6 160.9 216.2

% sales 15.0% 17.6% 19.7%

Other income and expenses 1.0 (4.0) (11.0)

Operating profit 129.6 156.9 205.2

% sales 15.1% 17.2% 18.7%

Amortizations, depreciations provision for intangible assets (9.2) (9.6) (22.3)

Operating result before taxes and financial expenses 120.5 147.3 182.9

Other income and expenses represented an expense of €11 million for the year, as compared to an expense of €4 million in 2016, mainly due to the inclusion in 2017 of risks present in certain countries in the non-EU zone, along with increased provisions for pension obligations, and increased provisions for unrealized foreign exchange losses.



M€ 2015 2016 2017

EBITDA 150.0 179.4 238.8

Cash Flow from Operating Activities 83.1 127.1 145.7

Cash Flow from Investing Activities (*) -66.3 -261.6 -239.1

Free cash flow 16.9 -134.5 -93.5

Cash Flow from Financing Activities 55.0 273.1 41.5

Effect of exchange rate changes -3.0 3.5 2.5

Changes in Cash Position 68.9 142.0 -49.5

Cash at beginning of period 71.7 140.6 282.6

Cash at end of period 140.6 282.6 233.1

The analysis of the consolidated cash flow statement included in the attached financial statements shows the following:

EBITDA totaling €238.8 million,

Cash flow from operations accounting for €145.7 million.

Total investments for financial year 2017 (net of financial leasing) totaled €239.1 million, including €90.4 million for acquisitions in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, and €148.7 million in financial fixed assets (in particular for acquisitions of new companies and the acquisition of a number of products from the ex- Merial business).

The acquisitions of property, plant and equipment correspond to investments in the Group’s primary industrial sites: Ceva Sante Animale, Ceva Biomune and Ceva Phylaxia.

In 2017, the group invested nearly €23 million for the acquisition of technology licenses and patents. These investments were made to support the design of new products.

As of December 31, 2017, gross free cash flow and investments amounted to €233.1 million, as compared to €282.6 million at the end of the prior financial year.

(*) net from transfer of long-term assets

Consolidated cash flow


Consolidated balance sheetM€ 2015 2016 2017

Intangible Assets 292,1 478,8 651,2

Property, Plant and Equipment 208,9 271,0 305,4

Financial Investments 19,1 38,7 18,9

Total fixed assets 520,0 788,5 975,5

Working Capital requirement 146,6 168,4 205,9

Total Assets 666,7 956,9 1 181,4

Stockholders’ Equity 256,1 318,1 349,8

Minority Interests 1,2 5,0 19,5

Other long-term Assets Liabilities 42,0 67,5 114,0

Net Financial Debt 367,4 566,3 698,1

Total Liabilities 666,7 956,9 1 181,4

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[email protected]

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Annual report 2 017 - Ceva India · and artificial intelligence. As a result, we implemented the Quantum program, ... producers, veterinarians, social scientists and two former ministers