Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and Kansas State University have entered a strategic collaboration to nurture future veterinary leaders.
Boehringer’s US animal health business will donate $800,000 over the next five years to the KSU Foundation. The funds will support a collaboration between Boehringer and veterinary students at K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
The agreement between the two parties will also enable Boehringer to train and present to K-State students, as well as allowing for professional development and learning initiatives between the partners.
As part of the deal, K-State has built a new auditorium named the Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Auditorium. K-State claims Boehringer will host training, symposiums and events in the auditorium to expose students to emerging animal health trends and career opportunities. The new building was completed in August of this year.
The collaboration expands Boehringer's presence in Missouri, with the company already housing its largest global animal health manufacturing site in St Joseph, Missouri. The St Joseph site employs nearly 1,000 people and produces more than one billion vaccine doses per year for livestock producers worldwide. The firm has operated at the site for over a century and recently invested almost $50 million to boost manufacturing capacity there.
Randolph Legg, Boehringer's head of US commercial business for animal health, said: "The Kansas City Animal Health Corridor and Boehringer Ingelheim share a history dating back more than 100 years. The collaboration with K-State furthers our commitment to this community, where so many of our dedicated employees live and work, and to the future of veterinary medicine.
"It is critically important that we help veterinary students prepare for the changing and growing role vets play in everything from caring for the animals we cherish, to food safety, public health and protecting the environment. This collaboration will help enhance the well-being of both humans and animals to create a healthier tomorrow for our animals, people and our communities."
Boehringer recently entered a collaboration with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology. The partnership will seek to develop microbial-based natural products for parasitic diseases in animals.
Reprinted with permission of IHS Markit