IDT Biologika

Company profile

In 2014 IDT Biologika employed around 1250 people and registered sales of €172 million. The company invests around 8% of its revenue in research and development of proprietary products each year. Company sites in Germany include the BioPharmaPark in Dessau-Rosslau and the Riems district of Greifswald. The IDT sales offices in the US, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Spain are focused on the animal health business segment. IDT Biologika is active in the animal health, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and quality control business areas.

The company is subject to inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

History

On July 1, 1921, Friedrich Richter founded Bakteriologisches Institut der Anhaltischen Kreise in Dessau. The Institute was devoted, among other things, to the detection and diagnosis of tuberculosis in humans and animals. On April 1, 1924, Ludwig Wolters took over direction of the Institute, which continued to develop into a health protection center until 1945. Production of the first vaccines, serums and pesticides began during this period, as did the production of immune serums against swine erysipelas. Anhaltische Serum-Institut GmbH Dessau (ASID) was founded on May 31, 1930 under the direction of Wolters and Herbert Hoffmann. Along with the production of serums and vaccines against animal diseases, the institute also worked on bacterial pest control as well as research and control of sheep blackleg.

The health institute was converted to a public law company on November 3, 1933, henceforth under the supervision of the Anhaltian State Ministry and dedicated to the sovereign functions of public healthcare and protecting the livestock population for the state of Anhalt and the German Reich.

The company was granted the status of a scientific research institute on April 9, 1947. The institute was renamed VEB Serum-Werk Dessau on January 1, 1951, and was a key vaccine and medication manufacturer for veterinary and human vaccines in the GDR. Following a decision by the GDR Council of Ministers (1950–1954), Serum-Werk Dessau was assigned directly to the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry on July 1, 1953. On January 1, 1954, the production-oriented VEB Serum-Werk Dessau became the science-oriented Forschungsinstitut für Impfstoffe Dessau. The Institute was mandated to produce vaccines for all major infectious animal diseases, for the GDR and for export. In the field of human medicine, new or improved preparations were developed, such as tuberculin and serums against tetanus and diphtheria. On January 23, 1973, Wilfried Heinicke, former director of the veterinary department of the Agriculture, Forestry and Food Products Ministry, became the new director of the Institute. While the Forschungsinstitut für Impfstoffe primarily focused on basic and applied research and the development of vaccines, serums and diagnostic methods for veterinary and human medicine during the years from 1954 to 1973, now exploration of the immunological foundations of bacterial animal diseases, applied vaccine research and also research on vaccine production technology intensified. In 1985 the Institut für Impfstoffe Dessau had close to 1,500 employees.

VEB Kombinat Veterinärimpfstoffe Dessau was founded on January 1, 1985 under the direct control of the GDR Agriculture Ministry. This company comprised three establishments: Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau with its integrated Institut für Impfstoffe Dessau research center and the Tornauer Werk plant under construction; VEB Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut Insel Riems, a business focused on the production of vaccines for animal viruses; and VEG Seehausen/Plaussig. Starting in 1988 the Dessau Institut für Impfstoffe primarily worked on a development program for veterinary diagnostics and prepared industrial production of diagnostic agents. The development of viral vaccines also continued, including for example live vaccines against duck plague and goose influenza, and vaccines against viral infection of fur-bearing animals, canids and felids. A live rabies vaccine developed in-house was ushered through to marketing authorization.

A decision by the GDR Council of Ministers initiated the dissolution or divestment of Kombinat Veterinärimpfstoffe Dessau. As a result, Impfstoffwerk Dessau and the two other operations in the group, VEB Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut Insel Riems and VEG Seehausen-Plaußig, were once again placed under the umbrella of the Berlin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and later entered into the research sector of the German Federal Republic. On July 24, 1990, Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau was registered as a “future GmbH (limited company)” in the commercial registry. Management of the company now operating as Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau GmbH was taken on by Dr Heinz Hofmann. The first wave of redundancies occurred around the time of the monetary, economic and social union on July 1, 1990 and impacted 800 employees; further mass layoffs brought the workforce down to just 125 people. Hartmut Klocke made a purchase offer for Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau in June 1992. Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau GmbH, previously a component of Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH without economic autonomy, was privatized on March 1, 1993.

With 16 Germany-wide marketing authorizations and 12 authorization procedures under way, the company with its now 172 employees and its own sales department began efforts to expand to the West German market in 1994. Rabifox, salmonella vaccines, hormone and serum preparations as well as fungal vaccines were primarily produced. An additional four marketing authorizations raised the number of authorized biologics to 29 in 1997. The niche strategy with a focus on cytostatics, anesthetics and x-ray contrast agents as well as pre-filled glass syringes, udder syringes and technology for lyophilized ampules raised revenue to DM 41 million in 1997. The completion and commissioning of the new vaccine plant (“IDT 2000”) laid the foundation for manufacturing our own vaccines and for contract manufacture for third parties. There were 249 employees in Dessau-Tornau at the start of the new millennium. Implementation of a highly technical manufacturing process for live smallpox vaccine was successful.

Investments were made beginning in 2004, with €106 million for the construction of a laboratory building for research and development, a warehouse with a barcode-based warehouse management system, and a new freeze-drying facility. Construction on a new virus production building began in 2005, vaccine production was expanded and an assembly line for pox vaccine packaging commissioned in 2006. The company name was changed in October 2007, when Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau GmbH became IDT Biologika GmbH. A swine flu animal vaccine with all three current subtypes was successfully brought to market in 2010.

IDT completed expansion of the Dessau site with a new building for vaccine production, which was ceremoniously inaugurated in 2013. The infrastructure was also expanded with a new warehouse, waste collection center and CHP plant.

In 2013 IDT Biologika acquired the manufacturing and research units of Riemser Pharma GmbH in the Riems district of Greifswald. IDT Biologika (Riems) began operations in November 2013. The expansion of the new site began in 2015 with the groundbreaking for a new research building, an investment of €10 million and the modernization of manufacturing and logistics.

Based on proprietary new products such as the vaccine against colienterotoxemia in swine, IDT Biologika expanded its animal health sales into Europe and founded national companies in Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Spain.

In its recently acquired U.S. manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland, IDT Biologika Corporation, a subsidiary of IDT Biologika GmbH, primarily works on vaccine development for clinical phase 1 and 2 projects and provides early development capabilities for the human vaccine market.

IDT Biologika announces the acquisition of Gallant Custom Laboratories, based in Ontario, Canada on September 1st. Gallant Custom Laboratories is the only Canadian company authorized by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to manufacture autogenous viral and bacterial vaccines.