The new 53,000 sq. ft. 2-story poultry vaccine operation is scheduled to be operational in the third quarter of 2010.

Ceva’s decision to expand its operations in the US will increase its production capacity and be instrumental in meeting the increased demand by poultry producers. The new facility is expected to boost output of its Marek’s vaccines by more than 5 times, and allow it to nearly double its use of eggs per week for vaccine production.

“Ceva’s investment in the current Lenexa campus emphasises our dedication to poultry vaccines,” said Ceva Biomune President, Dr. Arnaud Bourgeois. “Being a leader in poultry vaccines means investing in research and development, new technology and customer services. No other animal health company is currently committing this level of investment to support the poultry industry.”

"Meeting the global demand for high-quality, poultry protein requires a continuous supply of vaccines to support food safety and healthy flocks,” Bourgeois said. “This is why Ceva plans to invest more than $100 mln in R&D and construction of new facilities by 2012. This represents the highest ratio of re-investment dollars to sales dollars among poultry vaccine developers, and supports the company’s mission of innovation, expertise and trust.”

The new Lenexa vaccine plant, which will be one of the largest state-of-the-art Ceva facilities in the world, follows recent completions of R&D and Quality Control laboratories on the same campus. In addition, Ceva has a new vaccine plant going online in Europe this October, which will also help meet the worldwide supply needs of the poultry industry. These facilities are part of the $100 mln Ceva has committed to investing through 2012.