To support our growth strategy, it is essential to increase the availability of new products tailored to the Chinese market while creating synergies with global product development. To achieve this, we identified and signed agreements with local partners, covering everything from R&D to commercial production.

Furthermore, when one of our long-standing active ingredient suppliers in China decided to build a plant dedicated to animal health, we seized the opportunity to produce some of our health solutions there. This partnership ensures the rapid availability of generic solutions and, subsequently, differentiated products specifically adapted to the needs of Chinese pet owners.

“The ability to produce locally with a strategic partner allows us to expand our product range more quickly,” emphasizes Quoc Phong Chau, General Manager of Virbac China. “These products are developed and manufactured in compliance with local regulations, which significantly reduces time-to-market. This is essential in an extremely competitive and fast-moving market.”

Expanded offering

This partnership illustrates our commitment to diversifying and optimizing our production network based on key criteria:

• Geography and logistics: product destination countries and carbon footprint;
• Business constraints: regulatory and economic factors, including raw material sourcing;
• Operational excellence: specific expertise and the specialization of each site (vaccines, sterile products, tablets, etc.).

“The registration procedures for imported products versus those manufactured in China are significantly different. Leveraging both types of products allows us to broaden our offering there,” explains Bertrand Havrileck, R&D Director at Virbac. “Through our partnership with a network of rigorously selected local suppliers, and thanks to the expertise of our R&D teams in France and China, we guarantee the highest quality standards for all our products.”

Improved accessibility

The first product resulting from this partnership was launched in September 2025. It is a generic version of an oral suspension indicated for the treatment of pain and inflammation in cats, meeting a key demand from pet owners. This local production ensures our responsiveness to market needs in real-time. It also significantly reduces costs associated with importing the product from Europe.

“The success of this first launch encourages us to step up our collaboration. Our development pipeline forecasts one to two launches per year over the next five years, focusing exclusively on companion animals and the Chinese market for the time being. These projects already include more complex products, which is a testament to the mutual trust established with our partner,” states Vincent Lebouché, Group Pharma R&D Project Management Director.

Based in Changzhou, in the east of the country, this production unit is GMP-certified (Good Manufacturing Practices) for China and aims to extend this accreditation to other countries.