Merial, the animal health division of Sanofi, is celebrating 25 years since opening its first U.S. facility in Athens, Georgia. The anniversary is an important milestone in the history of Merial in Athens and the state of Georgia – and of the company’s impact on global animal health and the local economy.

The U.S. operation began in 1981 when a couple of scientists came from Lyon to train at the University of Georgia in Athens. At that time, the company was known as Rhone Merieux, which was based in Lyon, France. Within two years, a small team developed IMRAB®, a rabies vaccine for the U.S. market. In 1989 the company opened a 73,000 square-foot R&D, manufacturing and operations site in Athens.

Today, the Athens site has grown to 327,000 square-feet, where Merial develops and manufactures vaccines that improve and help protect the health and well-being of pets, production animals and wildlife throughout the world.

“The core of Merial’s vaccines business began in Athens, and the contributions of Merial Athens employees have transformed the health of animals throughout the world,” said John Millwood, Merial’s Athens site director. “We are proud to be one of the largest employers in Athens-Clarke County, and we continue to invest here so that we can further advance animal health through new vaccines, therapeutic products, biologics and technology platforms.”

Merial employs nearly 400 people in Athens and more than 1,000 in the state of Georgia, including at Merial’s North American headquarters in Duluth, Georgia and its production facility in Gainesville, Georgia. Merial completed its most recent Athens site expansion in 2013 to accommodate the growth of poultry vaccine production lines.

Merial manufactures many ground-breaking products in Athens, including:

• PUREVAX®, the industry-leading line of nonadjuvanted feline vaccines that helps protect cats against a number of diseases, including rabies, feline leukemia virus (FeLV), panleukopenia, and pathogens that commonly cause respiratory disease in cats. The family of PUREVAX vaccines induces immunity without any adjuvants that can present potential risks to cats.
• RECOMBITEK®, a line of vaccines that uses recombinant technology to help protect dogs from distemper and Lyme disease and horses from West Nile Virus and influenza.
• RABORAL V-RG®, an oral rabies recombinant vaccine that helps protect raccoons and coyotes against rabies to reduce the risk of rabies exposure to humans and domestic animals.
• ONCEPT®, the first DNA-based therapeutic cancer vaccine, which is used in dogs with stage II or stage III canine oral melanoma to support surgery and/or radiation therapy.

Merial continues to collaborate with the University of Georgia on animal health research, and joint research projects have led to multiple commercialized vaccines and treatments.

Over the years, Merial has invested more than $154 million in Athens-Clarke County, and the company has contributed more than $1 million to the United Way of Northeast Georgia through employee donations and a company match. Merial also supports various animal shelters and pet therapy organizations in Athens-Clarke County.