Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health’s 2025 performance offered more than a sales update. It also showed how disease prevention is becoming a bigger economic issue across livestock production, as producers face continued pressure from transboundary animal diseases and the costs that come with them.

The company reported that sales rose 6.5% in 2025 to EUR 4.9 billion, with growth supported by pet parasiticides and therapeutics as well as the poultry and ruminant segments. NEXGARD grew 8.5% to EUR 1.4 billion, which Boehringer Ingelheim said kept the brand in position as the industry’s top-selling parasiticide.

For The Animal Economics, the more meaningful point is what sits behind those numbers. Boehringer Ingelheim AH’s update reflects a wider shift in animal health: prevention is no longer just a veterinary matter, but increasingly a business priority. In 2025, the company said it worked with farmers, veterinarians and governments to help address livestock disease threats including avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue virus. Those are not minor challenges. They can affect farm productivity, raise biosecurity and vaccination costs, disrupt trade and add uncertainty across poultry and ruminant supply chains.

Poultry stood out as one of the clearest examples. Boehringer Ingelheim AH said it received EU Marketing Authorization under Exceptional Circumstances for two poultry vaccines aimed at supporting preparedness for avian influenza outbreaks. Alongside VAXXINACT H5, the company highlighted VAXXITEK HVT+IBD+H5, a trivalent vaccine developed to protect chickens and turkeys against Marek’s disease, Infectious Bursal Disease and H5 avian influenza.

That matters because avian influenza is not only a flock health issue. It is also a market stability issue. Producers are being pushed to protect performance while operating under the risk of disease-related losses, restrictions and added control costs. In that environment, vaccine access and outbreak preparedness become part of the economics of production, not just part of herd and flock health management.

Boehringer Ingelheim AH’s 2025 results therefore point to a broader reality for the sector: growth in animal health is increasingly linked to how effectively companies can help producers prevent disruption before it reaches the farm gate or the market.