Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has teamed up with two China animal health companies, Beijing KangMu Omni-Honesty Animal Health Products Co., Ltd. (KMOH), and China Agricultural Vet. Bio. Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (ZNWT), to form a $134 million Joint Venture (JV) to address foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in pigs, cattle and sheep. BI will contribute its vaccine technology to the JV, which will be located in Xi'an and called Shaanxi Meili Omni-Honesty Animal Health.

The total investment amounts to 840 million yuan (around €108 million). The venture will focus on research, development and manufacture of vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease on a site that will answer the latest BSL3+ biosafety standards. Production is expected to start in 2021. 

ZNWT is approved by the Ministry of Agriculture to produce the full set of vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease. KMOH has extensive market channels across the country, as well as rich marketing experience.

China National Foot and Mouth Disease Reference Laboratory under Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute is the authorized agency to identify and confirm foot-and-mouth disease. Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute is also an authorized research institute in China to develop vaccines against foot-and-mouth virus.