Boehringer Ingelheim's U.S. Animal Health Business launched a vaccine Jan. 6 to protect poultry from three diseases.

The company said its new VAXXITEK HVT+IBD+ND vaccine provides a "strong immune foundation and optimized protection against Marek's disease, infectious bursal disease (classic and variant types) and Newcastle disease."

Until now, Boehringer Ingelheim has offered two vaccines that guard against the three diseases, but they cannot be used together, the announcement noted.

Veterinarians and poultry producers have had to choose whether to use VAXXITEK HVT+IBD to vaccinate against Marek's disease and infectious bursal disease or NEWXXITEK HVT+ND to prevent Marek's disease and Newcastle disease, the company said.

"VAXXITEK HVT+IBD+ND provides producers the flexibility and expected protection against three diseases with one product," said Matt Nelson, head of Boehringer Ingelheim's U.S. poultry business. "We're confident this vaccine will improve flock health and live production performance our customers have come to expect from the VAXXITEK brand."

Boehringer Ingelheim said it will manufacture VAXXITEK HVT+IBD+ND from its site in Gainesville, Ga., which produces more than 60 billion doses of poultry vaccine a year for use in the U.S. and more than 60 other countries.

Nikki Pritchard, global head of poultry vaccines research and development at Boehringer Ingelheim, said the new trivalent vaccine "brings a simplified and effective solution to the poultry industry.

"Disease prevention through vaccination is key to ensure better bird health, resulting in bird performance and safety. This is critical in supporting our customer's ability to produce affordable protein to feed the planet," she said.

Boehringer Ingelheim is seeking regulatory approval in several additional countries to provide its new trivalent vaccine to customers outside the U.S.

Boehringer Ingelheim is the second largest animal health business in the world, with net sales of almost $4.7 billion (3.9 billion euros) worldwide in 2018, about 10,000 employees and a presence in more than 150 markets.

Boehringer Ingelheim's Animal Health Business has a significant presence in the U.S., with more than 3,000 employees in places that include Georgia, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.