Boehringer Ingelheim acquires stake in SoundTalks NV, begins pilot programme

Ingelheim, Germany, 15 April 2019 – Boehringer Ingelheim has acquired a minority stake in SoundTalks NV, a Belgian company. SoundTalks NV has developed a digital monitoring tool that seeks to improve the healthcare of pigs and helps farmers operate more efficiently.

“We are proud to partner with SoundTalks NV to offer an innovative solution to pork producers,” shares Rolf-Dieter Günther, Head of Diagnostics & Monitoring, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business Unit. “Technological innovation is transforming the animal health industry, and we are committed to developing solutions that help veterinarians and ultimately farmers as well as pet owners.”

Boehringer Ingelheim plans to install the SoundTalks^TM system in select pig barns in the US and other major swine markets this spring in a pilot programme.

“We are very pleased with this partnership. Our two companies share passion for innovative solutions, technology and animal health. This is just a beginning of a very exciting collaboration,” adds Dries Berckmans, CEO, SoundTalks NV.

The SoundTalks^TM system revolves around a digital microphone that records pigs coughing. It relies on an algorithm to differentiate coughing from other sounds in a pig barn and thus detects increased coughing that could signal respiratory distress. The system lets farmers and veterinarians intervene more quickly to obtain samples and get a diagnosis.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Improving the health and quality of life of patients is the goal of the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The focus in doing so is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives. In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim stands for advanced prevention.

Family-owned since it was established in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies. Some 50,000 employees create value through innovation daily for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceuticals. In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of nearly 18.1 billion euros. R&D expenditure, exceeding three billion euros, corresponded to 17.0 per cent of net sales.

As a family-owned company, Boehringer Ingelheim plans in generations and focuses on long-term success, rather than short-term profit. The company therefore aims at organic growth from its own resources with simultaneous openness to partnerships and strategic alliances in research. In everything it does, Boehringer Ingelheim naturally adopts responsibility towards mankind and the environment.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Business Unit

Boehringer Ingelheim is the second largest animal health business in the world. We are committed to creating animal wellbeing through our large portfolio of advanced, preventive healthcare products and services. With net sales of 3.9 billion euros (2017) and around 10,000 employees worldwide, we are present in more than 150 markets. For more information visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/animal-health/overview.

SoundTalks NV

SoundTalks NV is a Belgian technology-driven spin-off company that originated from the KU Leuven and the University of Milan in 2011. SoundTalks NV is committed to improving the health and welfare of livestock animals and the efficiency in the livestock production chain by delivering innovative automated monitoring solutions to the global market.

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