Intervet will supply French government with a minimum quantity of 27 million doses of Bluetongue vaccine

29 February 2008

ANGERS (France), February 29, 2008 – Today, Intervet received an official order of the Department for Agriculture and Fishery, France, to supply inactivated vaccine against Bluetongue, serotype 8.

Intervet is working intensively to supply the Bovilis BTV 8 vaccine to France as soon as possible, to support the French government and farming sector in its fight against this devastating disease.

As the global leader in the development and supply of vaccines to support animal health and welfare, Intervet has been actively working on this virus since its emergence in Northern Europe in 2006 and developed a vaccine against Bluetongue serotype 8 in a very short time to meet the urgent need as quickly as possible. Intervet already received firm orders from the UK and the Netherlands. Intervet is currently optimizing the production process and is doing the utmost to speed up the first deliveries for mid-spring.

The vaccine has been developed for sheep and for cattle. While sheep need to be vaccinated once, cattle will need two vaccinations. The Bluetongue control strategy and vaccine purchase and supply are defined by the national authorities.

Note for the editor
Schering-Plough is an innovation-driven, science-centered global health care company. Through its own biopharmaceutical research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough creates therapies that help save and improve lives around the world. The company applies its research-and-development platform to human prescription and consumer products as well as to animal health products. In November 2007, Schering-Plough acquired Organon BioSciences, with its Organon human health and Intervet animal health businesses, marking a pivotal step in the company's ongoing transformation. Schering-Plough’s vision is to “Earn Trust, Every Day” with the doctors, patients, customers and other stakeholders served by its approximately 50,000 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its website is http://www.schering-plough.com/.”

For more information about Intervet visit the following website:  http://www.intervet.com/