Merck Animal Health Completes Acquisition of Poultry Sense Limited

February 25, 2021 |

7 min read

Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, announced the completion of its acquisition of PrognostiX Poultry Limited d/b/a Poultry Sense Ltd. from its founding shareholders.

Feb. 25, 2021 21:30 UTC

Proprietary Technology Enhances Health and Environmental Monitoring Solutions for Poultry Producers

MADISON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), today announced the completion of its acquisition of PrognostiX Poultry Limited d/b/a Poultry Sense Ltd. from its founding shareholders. Poultry Sense Ltd. is an innovator in health and environmental monitoring solutions for the poultry industry. In March 2019, Merck Animal Health invested in Poultry Sense Ltd., to support their development. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Poultry Sense Ltd., a privately held company located in Exeter, U.K., provides enhanced technology for poultry farmers to continuously track and analyze overall health performance for the life of the flock; it provides users the capability to measure, compare and record key health and environmental indicators captured by battery-powered, wireless sensors in the poultry barn, as well as to identify patterns and trends to predict health and well-being and, ultimately, prevent disease and improve performance.

This innovative technology is an important tool used to assess an animal’s health and well-being, which contributes to enhanced productivity and efficacy measures on the farm and, ultimately, to better food safety and security. The sensors allow farmers to monitor and assess vital parameters by measuring weight, water usage, humidity, light, temperature and carbon dioxide. Farmers can therefore gain insight into the housing environment, as well as bird health and performance.

This proprietary technology can detect health conditions earlier in poultry that can lead to illness, thus reducing the potential for disease outbreak. This notification is done via software reports in an easy-to-read dashboard in real-time on any mobile device, desktop, tablet or secure website, which also connects to the cloud.

“We are pleased to take this step forward with the acquisition of Poultry Sense Ltd., as we continue to broaden our portfolio with complementary products and technologies to advance animal well-being and outcomes for our customers,” said Rick DeLuca, president, Merck Animal Health. “We now will be able to provide enhanced health and environmental monitoring technology to the poultry industry, which adds to our technological expertise within our livestock monitoring business with beef and dairy cattle as well as aquaculture, strengthening our leadership in shaping the future of animal health.”

“Our goal is to improve the detection of animal illness and enable more preventative solutions, including vaccination, to maintain the health of livestock. We are at the technological forefront of shaping the future of animal health through our commitment to leveraging our scientific and technical capabilities and expertise through comprehensive solutions to manage the health, well-being and performance of animals.”

The Poultry Sense Ltd. product portfolio joins Merck Animal Health Intelligence, a newly formed specialized operating unit which takes its name from the company’s strategic vision for animal health intelligence and data expertise. Merck Animal Health Intelligence is a complementary business that specializes in identification, traceability, monitoring solutions and services to help improve animal management and health outcomes.

“The addition of specialized, digital technology within our portfolio of medicines, vaccines and services, provides holistic solutions to help advance animal health and complements our existing identification and monitoring technology that delivers real-time, actionable data and insights to help, improve or enhance animal management and health outcomes,” said DeLuca.

“I am delighted that Merck Animal Health has chosen to acquire this tremendous technology,” said Alan Beynon, CEO of PrognostiX. “They have the expertise and geographic range to expand the footprint of this product and reach more customers.”

In April 2019, Merck Animal Health announced the completion of its acquisition of market leading brands Allflex Livestock Intelligence, Sure Petcare and Biomark as leaders in emerging digital technology with animal identification, animal monitoring and smart data management for Livestock and Companion Animals. In December 2019, the company acquired Vaki, a leader in fish farming and wild fish conservation monitoring equipment and real-time video monitoring technology to advance fish health and welfare. In June 2020, the company acquired Quantified Ag^®, an innovator in data and analytics that monitors cattle body temperature and movement in order to detect illness early. In August 2020, the company acquired IdentiGEN, a leader in DNA-based animal traceability solutions for Livestock and Aquaculture.

About Merck Animal Health

For 130 years, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.

Poultry Sense Limited

Poultry Sense combines a wealth of expertise and evidence with the knowledge of specialist vets, engineers and data analysts to bring together real-time data across both environmental and health parameters to help facilitate improvements in bird performance, economics and welfare.

The wireless system feeds accurate, live data into a bespoke analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence to produce insight assisting in better informed on-farm and supply chain decision making. For more information contact: info@poultrysendltd.com.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).