[3] In August 1997, Merial started as a joint venture between the animal health subsidiaries of Merck & Co. (MSD AgVet) and Sanofi-Aventis (Rhône-Mérieux).

In October 2009, Merial announced it was investing 70 million US$ at its poultry vaccines plant in Nanchang Hi-tech Development Zone, China.

On March 9, 2010, Sanofi-Aventis announced[6] it had exercised an option to combine Merial with Intervet/Schering Plough, the animal health business of Merck.

[7] The investigators concluded that "release was most likely due to escape of live virus from the drainage system that connects the vaccine production plant to the sodium hydroxide treatment tanks on another part of the Pirbright site.

This related to the promotion of NexGard Spectra® to the veterinary profession by both account managers and technical teams via telephone conversations and webinars from February 2016 onwards.