How far back does the sale of vaccines in Colombia go?
The Canigen range of vaccines for dogs has been available since 1998. It was distributed by several labs, including Synthesis, bought by Virbac in 2002 to create a subisidiary. Thus Virbac Colombie begins the commercialization of its biological range with the other products of the Virbac portfolio. In 2011 Canigen became the market leader with 22% of the market share. Canigen now holds a 26% share in the market. 

How would you explain this rapid growth?
Firstly there are the characteristics of Canigen, whose effectiveness against the major dog diseases including parvovirus and canine distemper was demonstrated. Veterinary practitioners have a full range of vaccines available in a single brand, reducing interaction risks with other products. Finally, there's a great deal of interest amongst practitioners in the services Virbac offer, such as vaccination notebook and customized technical support.
On the back of this success therefore we expanded the range of vaccines for cats with the launch of Feligen CPR/R in 2013 and Leucogen in 2014.

Other actions?
Yes. We reinforced technical training for our sales force which has included the basic principles of immunology, the various types of vaccines as well as the innate characteristics of Virbac vaccines.
In 2014, we launched a communication campaign in clinics. The objective was to raise owners’ awareness of the key role played by veterinary practitioners in the vaccination process. In Colombia and in Latin America in general, it's possible to have animals vaccinated in pet stores. We've also made fifty thousand additional copies of vaccination notebooks available to veterinary practitioners. Finally we've strengthened our commercial policy for rewarding client loyalty, by making training and technical publications available to them.

What have the results been like?
The results have been excellent! Feligen was well received by veterinary practitioners. With a single dose they can, in effect, vaccinate cats against four diseases. Thanks to its characteristics, Leucogen has also been favorably received by vets. These good results were expressed in sales for 2014 which exceeded forecasts and market shares of over 50% for the two products. 

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