IGENITY® and Global Animal Management (GAM) joined forces to provide producers with the first-ever option to combine information from a comprehensive DNA profile with health, source and age records in one user-friendly package.
“Now, producers can merge the inside information from IGENITY with calf health, source and age verification records all in one place,” says Dr. Stewart Bauck, executive director of research and development, IGENITY. “This partnership is a continuation of user-friendly solutions IGENITY and GAM have brought to the beef industry.”
TRI-MERIT® is a data management tool from GAM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, that can be used to certify traditional health processes as well as verify age, source and movement of individual cattle. By linking TRI-MERIT with IGENITY, producers can now store a wealth of information about their cattle in one system. IGENITY, a division of Merial, offers DNA analyses for more than 15 economically important traits, a diagnostic test for persistent infections (PI) of the bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus and more.
Dr. Bauck adds that this convenient offering from IGENITY comes just in time for producers who are evaluating marketing options for their spring calf crop.
“Feedyard buyers are likely to be choosy this fall when it comes to selecting cattle to fill their pens,” Dr. Bauck says. “Now, producers can supply buyers with information about their cattle’s genetics, BVD-PI status, health records, age and source of origin all in one convenient package — giving buyers more confidence in their purchasing decisions.”
Jim Heinle, president, GAM, says this partnership joins two groups with a shared vision to provide cattle producers with the most innovative technologies available.
“GAM is continuously pursuing technologies and information management solutions that help cattle producers find ways to achieve higher value for their animals,” he says. “IGENITY offers the beef industry with the most comprehensive and powerful DNA profile available. It only makes sense that we combine this advanced information with the TRI-MERIT data management program to provide producers a convenient option to help add value to their cattle.”
Dr. Bauck adds that the combination tissue collection device and radio frequency identification (RFID) tag available from IGENITY is compliant with TRI-MERIT — adding another level of convenience for producers looking to take advantage of both advanced technologies.
The comprehensive DNA offering from IGENITY includes the only available DNA analyses for maternal and reproductive traits; the most complete list of carcass traits; the only feed efficiency analyses for both Bos indicus and Bos taurus cattle; and more.1 IGENITY also offers user-friendly information management software and expert consultation to help producers customize this advanced information to their individual herd goals.
GAM offers products, solutions and services for animal identification, data storage, processing, analysis and reporting that add value to individuals or groups of cattle. GAM was the first company to have a USDA-interim-approved identification database with electronic ear tags approved by the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). In addition, GAM’s TRI-MERIT is a USDA Process Verified Program (PVP) approved for source and age verification and as a data service provider. TRI-MERIT is also an approved Animal Tracking Database (ATD) for NAIS and is Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) compliant.
For more information about IGENITY, producers should contact their IGENITY sales representative, call 1-877-IGENITY or visit www.igenity.com/beef. For more information about GAM or TRI-MERIT, call 1-800-235-9824 or visit www.tri-merit.com.
IGENITY is a division of Merial. Merial is a world-leading, innovation-driven animal health company, providing a comprehensive range of products to enhance the health, well-being and performance of a wide range of animals. Merial employs approximately 5,400 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide. Its 2008 sales were more than $2.6 billion. Merial Limited is a joint venture between Merck & Co., Inc. and sanofi-aventis. For more information, please see www.merial.com.
Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is a leader in research and dedicated to the development, production and marketing of innovative, high-quality animal-health products for all major farm and companion animal species. For more information about Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health visit: www.intervet.com and www.intervetusa.com.
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. Schering-Plough’s vision is to “Earn Trust, Every Day” with the doctors, patients, customers and other stakeholders served by its colleagues around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA, and its website is www.schering-plough.com.”
SCHERING-PLOUGH DISCLOSURE NOTICE: The information in this press release includes certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to expectations or forecasts of future events. Schering-Plough does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from Schering-Plough’s forward-looking statements, including market forces, economic factors, product availability, patent and other intellectual property protection, current and future branded, generic or over-the-counter competition, the regulatory process, and any developments following regulatory approval, among other uncertainties. For further details about these and other factors that may impact the forward-looking statements, see Schering-Plough’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including Part II, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in the Company’s first quarter 2009 10-Q, filed May 1, 2009.