Newport Labs sold

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WORTHINGTON — Newport Laboratories has been acquired by Merial Limited, the animal health division of Sanofi, a global and diversified health care conglomerate.

Newport Laboratories, part of Prairie Holdings Group in Worthington, is a leader in autogenous vaccines with a focus on swine and bovine production markets. Founded in 1994, it assists veterinarians and livestock producers in addressing animal health problems through diagnostic testing and production of custom veterinary biologics. It launched its first commercial vaccine, ParaSail, in 2010.

Merial is also a leader in vaccine technology with recombinant-vectored vaccines for large animals and pets, including the first adjuvanted feline vaccine line, oral rabies vaccines for wildlife and the first therapeutic vaccine for cancer in dogs.

The two companies had previously collaborated on a vaccine product, explained George Caraway, strategic marketing executive for Newport Laboratories, and developed a positive working relationship that evolved into the acquisition opportunity.

“Our guys are forward-thinking, and they knew that for the future — none of us are getting any younger, either — that this was the best option,” Caraway said. “… They had been thinking about a succession and when that would happen who they would want to be associated with. They didn’t want it to be a great big animal health company that would acquire them and everybody here would be forgotten. They have a lot of pride in this organization, and they developed it to keep it here.”

Merial Chief Executive Officer Jose Barella made the journey from France to be on hand Monday for the announcement of the acquisition and to explain to local employees during a noon luncheon what the change in ownership would mean to them.

Merial employs about 5,600 people and operates in more than 150 countries worldwide.

“He came and explained how we fit into the whole Merial organization,” said Caraway. “They’re made up of quite a few different entities, and what they want from us is the swine, a better presence in the swine market. Of the things that they held, they didn’t have much of a presence there, so it’s really a nice fit.

“One thing that Jose impressed upon us was that Newport had the model for giving good customer service and products to the swine industry,” continued Caraway. “He impressed upon everyone that Merial purchased Newport for Newport, what we brought to the swine industry. We’re our own entity here. That’s kind of how they do business.”

Barella also assured the Newport Laboratories workers that the local workforce would remain untouched by the change on ownership.

“As far as Newport is concerned, there are no layoffs at Newport,” Caraway said. “We will keep the same level of employees, but in the transition some of the services currently provided by Prairie Holdings Group will be brought into Newport Labs. No layoffs of Newport personnel will be anticipated.”

Randy Simonson, chief operating officer of Newport Laboratories, will continue to be responsible for operations at the Worthington facility and will report to Merial.

“Joining forces with Merial allows us to expand our expertise in the market and enhance the profitability of our customers through solution-based animal health-care offerings,” said Simonson in a press release. “We will also be able to reach untapped markets in the U.S. and eventually even bring our expertise to the rest of the world.”

Wayne Freese, one of the Prairie Holdings Group founders and its chief executive officer, will have a short-term consulting role with Newport, but will continue to be associated with PHG.

In addition to Newport, other PHG interests include ProPig, Ide@s, ProCattle, Integrity Aviation and Travel Express.

“Prairie Holdings Group is the overall umbrella, and Newport is one entity of that,” said Caraway. “The Newport Laboratories logo, the Newport name, everything will remain the same.”

The “big red barn” building north of Interstate 90 on U.S. 59 will continue to be the headquarters for Newport. PHG will operate out of the south wing of the building for the time being.

In recent years, Newport Laboratories has expanded its reach to a world market, most notably with a presence in China, and uniting with a global leader in animal health care will further advance those efforts.

“We’re responsible to grow our business and keep it going,” said Caraway. “I know we’ll have access to some of their technology and vice versa.

“Nothing ever stays exactly the same, but we needed to do this to keep our growth and move forward,” he added. “Newport is Newport. They got it because of the steam, and they want to keep the steam.”

Daily Globe Features Editor Beth Rickers may be reached at

376-7327

Tags: newport labs, news, sold