About Virbac Australia
Virbac (Australia) Pty Ltd is an animal health company passionate about serving the needs of livestock producers and pet owners in Australia. Our large team of over 200 personnel develops, produces and sells a wide range of products for sheep, cattle, cats, dogs and horses. Virbac is one of the few animal health companies in Australia that has invested in dedicated R&D and significant manufacturing capability to serve the needs of our Australian customers.
Virbac (Australia) Pty Ltd is part of the Virbac group which was founded in 1968 in Carros, close to Nice, by veterinarian Pierre-Richard Dick. The ownership structure of the company has not changed and is still in the control of the founder’s family. Another differentiating aspect of the company, is that it is dedicated exclusively to animal health. This stability, independence and focus have been cornerstones of the group which today has grown to be a truly global company selling into over 100 countries.
Virbac started in Australia in 1987 as a joint-venture with only 11 staff. Since then it has grown organically and through acquisition to become one of the top 10 animal health companies in Australia. Today Virbac Australia’s sales turnover exceeds AUD100 M.
Virbac has R&D centres in 8 countries including Australia. The size of the Australian market allows Virbac to maintain a dedicated team and 3 laboratories in Sydney. While the focus is on parasiticides and vaccines for ruminants, the R&D team in Australia also has a growing interest in nutrition and welfare. Having manufacturing located physically close to R&D allows for seamless transfer of new products.
Virbac is proud to be a local manufacturer, employing more than 100 people in manufacturing at three Australian sites. Its production facilities located in Crookwell in rural NSW, Penrith and Macquarie Park in Sydney hold GMP Licenses issued by the APVMA to manufacture veterinary and animal health products. The Macquarie Park site is also accredited by the FDA.
Virbac’s diverse range of products means you can usually rely on Virbac to have a solution to most animal health problems. This range of products includes some well-known brands:
- Parasite control (the CYDECTIN® range of sheep and cattle drenches, NITROMEC®, NITROFLUKE®, FLUKAMEC®, EQUIMAX® and STRATEGY-T®)
- Vaccination (the WEBSTERS® range of sheep and cattle vaccines, SINGVAC®, cat and dog vaccines)
- Antibiotics
- Dermatological care (medicated shampoos including EPISOOTHE® SIS, EPIOTIC®)
- Reproduction
- Dental care (AQUADENT®, HEXARINSE®)
Virbac manufactures and sells many unique products that are unmatched by competitors, such as: CYDECTIN EWEGUARD® and WEANERGUARD®, CYDECTIN® LONG ACTING INJECTION FOR CATTLE, SINGVAC Botulinum vaccines, NITROMEC, MULTIMIN, STRATEGY-T and AQUADENT.
We produce the majority of products sold in Australia at our three local manufacturing sites. Some of our products are exported to the UK, Europe, New Zealand, the Middle East and various Asian countries.
Virbac has been close to its customers and partners from the very beginning. Resolutely focused on meeting their needs, Virbac has developed qualities of flexibility, speed and market sensitivity in order to effectively satisfy its customers and seize new opportunities. Virbac Australia is represented Australia wide by a sales force comprising 43 people, as well as 23 staff in customer service and marketing that service the needs of our customers from head office in Sydney. Virbac products are widely available at most outlets, veterinary clinics, rural or equine supply stores and pet stores.
Pierre-Richard Dick, a French veterinarian, creates the SARL Virbac biological research center.
We take our first steps internationally thanks to distribution partnerships in Benelux and the Federal Republic of Germany.
We develop the first insecticide collar for dogs, which would later become one of our flagship products.
We take a new step forward with the construction of the building of our future headquarters in Carros, near Nice, quickly adding a production and storage unit and a loading dock.
We make available in France the first cephalosporin in veterinary medicine (for dogs, cats and cattle), thus providing an alternative to the cephalosporins derived from human pharmaceuticals.
In response to the viral gastroenteritis epidemic decimating dog breeding, we create the first parvovirus-based vaccine approved for dogs, thus entering the very exclusive club of innovative vaccine-developing laboratories.
The opening of our first subsidiary in Germany, following acquisition of local distributor VMG, marks the beginning of our deployment in Europe.
Number-two French animal health laboratory, we start to trade on the secondary market of the Paris stock exchange.
With the acquisition of Allerderm Inc., we propel ourselves into the United States market. A specialist in the new veterinary dermatology market, we become the world leader a few years later.
By designing the first genetically engineered vaccine against feline leukemia made from a purified p45 FeLV-envelope retrovirus, we provide veterinarians with an effective solution against a disease in cats for which there was no cure at the time.
We open a new door with the acquisition of Imperial Dog, a dog and cat food manufacturer, founded by the creator of Royal Canin, now Virbac Nutrition.
In Europe, we continue to move forward by offering the first oral anti-rabies vaccine for foxes, obtained by selective mutation.
Our founder Pierre-Richard Dick, doctor of veterinary medicine, dies suddenly at the age of 55 while on a Central American sea voyage. Pascal Boissy, then financial director, succeeds him to head the company. Six months later, we adopt a new organizational structure made up of an executive board and a supervisory board, of which Jeanine Dick, wife of the founder, becomes chairwoman.
We push our international expansion further with the creation of our first subsidiary in Asia (a partnership with Maruyasu, a Japanese import-export company).
Numerous companies created to develop our company on French territory merge into a single subsidiary, Virbac France, formalizing the beginning of the Virbac umbrella brand.
Through its “I love my pet, I vaccinate it” poster campaign, we raise the general public’s awareness of vaccination in France.
Eric Marée, 48 years old, graduate of HEC and holder of an MBA from Cornell University in the United States, becomes chairman of the Virbac executive board.
Thanks to the acquisition of Agri-Nutrition, a company based in St. Louis (Missouri), we acquire a range of dental care and hygiene products.
We make available to European veterinarians the first interferon omega for dogs and cats.
The Pierre-Richard Dick Foundation, created in 1993 after our founder’s death, becomes the Virbac Corporate Foundation. It aims to raise public awareness, educate and inform, especially children, about issues related to the integration and well-being of animals in cities.
We partner with Jean-Pierre Dick, son of our founder and doctor of veterinary medicine, on his sailing adventure: through his involvement in epic races, the skipper helps to enhance the veterinary profession, promote animal health and our values in the four corners of the world.
Marie-Hélène Dick, daughter of our founder, doctor of veterinary medicine and MBA graduate from HEC, is named chairwoman of Virbac’s supervisory board.
We strengthen our presence with Indian veterinarians and farmers thanks to the acquisition of Agrivet Farm Care, the animal health branch of GlaxoSmithKline. A collaboration that allows us to become number 1 in this country.
With 7 production units, we currently have an industrial park on five continents (France, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, South Africa and Vietnam) to bring our health solutions ever closer to those who care for animals.
We share with veterinarians the first deslorelin-based implant, inducing a reversible neutering in male dogs.
We sign an agreement with Pfizer Inc. to acquire the Australian rights to a range of products for food producing animals, primarily parasiticides and vaccines for cattle and sheep.
Committed to the animal proteins of the future, we acquire a majority share of Centrovet, animal health market leader in Chile, expert in the development and production of innovative products for the protection and treatment of cold water aquaculture farms (salmon and trout).
We acquire Schweitzer Biotech Company, a Taiwanese company that is an expert in the development of cell culture banks serving as the basis for production of viral vaccines primarily for swine and poultry. This acquisition gives the impulse to the creation of a new biology R&D structure in Southeast Asia, a region recognized for the largest swine and aquaculture (warm water) markets on the planet.
The Virbac Corporate Foundation, aware of the challenges related to the interconnection between animal, human, and environmental health, is committed to a screening, control, and prevention program for bovine tuberculosis and rabies in the Gonarezhou Park (Zimbabwe).
After the building of VB8 in Carros in 2014, dedicated to the manufacture of sterile injectables, we continue to invest in quality and production capacity with the construction of Argo Navis, VB8’s alter ego in Mexico.
After the physiological range in 2016, we provide dog and cat owners with a range of dietetic petfood. Their composition is particularly suited to the dietary needs of carnivores.
At the helm of St. Michel-Virbac, Jean-Pierre Dick wins his fourth Jacques Vabre Race (a first in the history of the Coffee Race). This victory marks a turning point in the life of the sailor and the most fitting closure to his 17 years of adventures around the world, flying the colors of our company.
Sébastien Huron, 47 years old, doctor of veterinary medicine, head of Global Business Operations, and member of the executive board since 2012, succeeds Éric Marée as chairman of Virbac.
In September, we celebrate our 50th anniversary. Along with the family of our founder, nearly 3,000 connected employees share in a two-day event that unfolds in an atmosphere of warmth, intercultural sharing and engagement in the service of animal health.
We make a food supplement available in several Asian countries (Taiwan, Vietnam, The Philippines, South Korea and Thailand) to improve the survival of piglets from birth to ten days old.
We win a Pharmapack Europe Award for the Smart Cap, a cap for safe extraction of liquid products (also recognized by the ADF Paris Awards in 2019). A great reward for our teams!
We include in our range of chews the first dental technology that fights both the oral and digestive causes of bad breath in dogs (Fr3sh).
We make a jump in several Asian countries thanks to a preventive solution against porcine circovirus, a virus responsible for significant losses in farms. Developed by our teams with the genotype predominant in most regions of the world, this vaccine helps limit the impact of this disease in one of the world's most important swine production areas.
We offer to the European and North American veterinarians the first intratumoral injectable for canine mastocytomas, the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the most common skin cancer. With this novel injectable solution, we are opening a new path in the treatment of canine skin tumors.
