Not Just Putting Lipstick on a Pig

Coccidiosis, an infectious parasitic disease affecting the intestinal tracts of animals, can cause newborn piglets to lose up to an entire kilogram of weight gain during their critical weaning period. But it’s not just the animals that lose. Pig farmers also lose as the financial losses of underweight pigs can be very heavy. Bayer specially developed a treatment for coccidiosis in piglets, called Baycox 5%, which stops the development of the parasites in the gut that causes coccidioses and therefore helps improving the health and the weight development of the piglets. Ketchum recently teamed up with Bayer to officially launch this innovative one-shot treatment on the Mainland China market.

Research has shown that Baycox 5% can significantly reduce symptoms of gut damage, increase the animal’s weight, and reduce farmers’ reliance on antibiotic use. Naturally, the product piqued the interest of stakeholders coming from both economic and animal health perspectives.

In Hangzhou, senior Bayer executives, livestock health experts, and the media convened for an energetic event and product launch including executive speeches, Baycox 5%’s official unveiling, a panel discussion, and media interviews. The launch ceremony and press conference resulted in 47 pieces of positive coverage spanning TV, print, and online media. Notable coverage included special features on Beijing TV and Xinhua news, and extensive reporting in animal industry publications such as China Animal Health, Pigs Today, and China Animal Husbandry Magazine.