When E Thomas Corcoran became president of Fort Dodge Animal Health in 1985, this little-known division of pharmaceutical company Wyeth was posting around $28m in annual sales.

However, more than 20 years later, Fort Dodge is now one of the top 10 animal health companies in the world and is on track to hit the billion dollar mark for the first time this year.

It is clear that Mr Corcoran has made his mark at Fort Dodge, and his achievements have earned him the title of winner of the Animal Pharm 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Brent A Standridge, senior vice-president of Fort Dodge North America sales and marketing, presented a strong case for nominating Mr Corcoran.

"Having worked with Tom for more than 20 years, I have witnessed the remarkable impact he has had on Fort Dodge," wrote Mr Standridge. "During his career, he has taken Fort Dodge from a small biologicals company to an organization recognized as a global leader in the animal health industry. With his vision and leadership, Fort Dodge moved from a company rooted in the United States to one that today operates internationally, selling products in more than 100 countries."

Mr Corcoran graduated from the University of South Alabama with a bachelor degree of science in marketing, and then pursued graduate studies at the University of South Florida and attended the Executive Management Program at Columbia University in New York. He began his career at Diamond Shamrock, now part of the US oil refiner Valero Energy Corporation. He spent 15 years there holding various sales and marketing positions before taking over as president of Fort Dodge in 1985.

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Among the many products that Fort Dodge has launched during Mr Corcoran's tenure, perhaps one of the most noteworthy is West Nile-Innovator. It is the first fully licensed vaccine to protect against equine West Nile Virus, a disease that has posed a serious threat to the equine industry in North America upon its emergence on the east coast of the US in the late 1990s.

Other notable product launches include LymeVax, the first canine Lyme disease vaccine; Fel-O-Vax, the first vaccine licensed to help prevent the feline immunodeficiency virus, which causes feline AIDS; and ProHeart 6, a sustained-release microsphere-based injectable heartworm product. It is effective for six to 12 months, and is the first product of its kind that can last for more than a month.

Mr Corcoran has directed several acquisitions by Fort Dodge, including the animal health businesses of Bristol-Myers, AH Robins, Syntex, Cyanamid, Solvay, and Parke-Davis.

The tremendous growth of Fort Dodge in such a relatively short amount of time prompted the company to relocate its headquarters in 1995 to Overland Park, Kansas, in the heart of what is now known as the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor.

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"Tom's strong leadership at Fort Dodge Animal Health and his intense devotion to animal science has put Kansas City on the map for animal health companies," said Bob Marcusse, president and chief executive of the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). The council is the parent organization of the KC Animal Health Corridor. Mr Marcusse and the KCADC helped Fort Dodge with the relocation.

In addition to his position as the head of Fort Dodge, Mr Corcoran is also a highly respected leader in the animal health industry and was recently the chairman of the Animal Health Institute, the US animal health industry association. During his term as chairman, Mr Corcoran was very active in the Animal Drug User Fee Act of 2003, which enables the US Food and Drug Administration to collect user fees for certain types of animal drug applications and establishments to support the more efficient review of new animal drugs.

"The animal health industry is important to the welfare of the world in a variety of ways," Mr Corcoran tells Animal Pharm. "If you look at the pet segment, all the data show that people who have pets live longer, and they're healthier, so there's truly a value to that. The work we do as animal health companies is very important in keeping these pets healthy for an extended period of time, because when people suffer the loss of a pet, it's the same kind of emotional reaction as a human loss.

"When you look at livestock, we try to keep the food supply safe through our products. Protecting the food that finds its way on to millions of people's tables is very, very important work.

Animal Pharm Awards 2007 September 25th 2007

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"On the equine side, whether the animals have a high value like thoroughbreds or are just backyard horses, the kinds of products that we all provide are what keep these animals up and going. We keep their owners happy."

Perhaps Mr Corcoran's most valuable attribute is his devotion to those who have helped him achieve such overwhelming success over the course of his career.

"While growing and expanding what is soon to be a billion dollar company, Tom always ensures he is cultivating Fort Dodge's most valuable asset - its people," Mr Standridge wrote in his nomination letter. "Tom truly values the skill, experience, and knowledge of the Fort Dodge team, and recognizes and rewards individuals' hard work and commitment. Tom Corcoran is a leader, a visionary, a mentor - truly deserving of the Animal Pharm Lifetime Achievement Award."

When he was asked what it meant to him to win this award, Mr Corcoran was true to his reputation.

"What it means to me personally is recognition of the efforts and the accomplishments on the part of the people at Fort Dodge," he said. "One person receiving an award is really representing the company they work for or the institution they are a part of, and I think that is exactly what this is. I'm incredibly proud of the people that I've worked with, so I receive this award on their behalf."

E Thomas Corcoran will be presented with his well-merited award at the 2007 Animal Pharm Awards on the evening of September 25th 2007 at the beautiful Gibson Hall in the City of London, hosted by Michaela Strachan. Over 200 guests will gather to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of this truly remarkable industry.

Further awards that will be hotly contested on the night include New Veterinary Product - Companion Animals, for which Janssen Animal Health, Merial and Pfizer Animal Health are all in the running. Genitrix Animal Health and Nutrition, MVP Laboratories, Inc, and Peptech Animal Health will be battling it out for Achievement or Contribution by a Small Business/SME award, while Eurovet Animal Health, Heska Corporation, Indian Immunologicals, and Merial hope to be honored with the Animal Health Company of the Year award.