July 14, 2017
Ceva Phylaxia inaugurates state-of-the-art vaccine plant
Ceva Santé Animale held the inauguration ceremony of its new European vaccine production facility at its Budapest Campus this month.
A further 3,900 square metres of space, containing more than 100 pieces of new equipment, were added to the existing campus at a cost of 25 million euros (7.8 billion forint), creating 60 new jobs.
Dr. Marc Prikazsky, Ceva's Chairman and CEO, Thierry Le Flohic, Director of Ceva's Biology Unit, Dr. István Nagy, Parliamentary State Secretary and Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, and Arnaud Zerkovitz, Director of the Commercial Office of the French Embassy, addressed the event.
Ceva Phylaxia has a long history in Hungary, having been present for more than 100 years. Today, the campus lies at the centre of a global vaccine network with Budapest being the single largest R&D and production centre. Over 95% of current production is exported to countries around the world.
"We are very proud of Hungary's long, innovative tradition in the research and production of veterinary vaccines. Many of the scientists associated with Ceva Phylaxia such as, Marek and Aujeszky have had their names immortalised as commonly-found production animal diseases, and today, more than ever, innovation must have impact. Since 2000, we have gained over 2,000 new global marketing authorisations, resulting in a 20-times increase in production on the site. In turn, this has created over 300 new positions," said Thierry le Flohic. "Although we take pride in our history, we are investing in Hungary for the future. Our teams here have demonstrated their ability to turn innovation into exponential growth."
The newly developed robotised production lines are said to use the latest technology. Antigen production capacity has doubled, and two separate laboratories dedicated to inactivated antigen production have also been added.
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, Circovac being the best known. The company will relocate production of these vaccines to the new facility over the next two years, bringing swine production back to the centre 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 named after József Marek, a veterinary scientist who worked at Phylaxia, ensuring that his innovation will continue to have impact through the vaccine that will be produced in the new facility and used by poultry producers throughout the world.
Our team here has delivered exceptional results but as part of a global network that brings together skills from the USA, Canada, Japan, China and Brazil. I am very proud of what they have all achieved, together," said Dr. Marc Prikazsky, Chairman and CEO of Ceva.
