ECO Animal Health Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ECO Animal Health Group plc (LON:EAH), today announced that it has entered into a second worldwide exclusive research partnership with The Pirbright Institute, United Kingdom, to develop another novel vaccine for use in chickens.
Commenting Marc Loomes, CEO of ECO Animal Health Group plc, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with the Pirbright Institute again to develop another novel vaccine for use in chickens. The use of the Marek’s disease vector in this technology is a significant advancement over other recombinant vaccines and will help widen the potential use of this vaccine in broilers and in breeding stock.”
Innovative technologies developed at Pirbright will use a Marek’s disease virus vector to express multiple protective components against the economically important poultry viral diseases of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) which cause significant systemic and respiratory damage.
The global poultry biologicals market is worth c. $2.3 billion and forecast to grow with a CAGR of 5-6%. The Marek’s disease, IBDV, NDV and ILTV segments are collectively worth c. $470 million.
Professor Venugopal Nair, Head of Avian Viral Diseases at the Pirbright Institute, states: “The novel vaccine will have the potential to induce simultaneous protection against Marek’s disease as well as the other major diseases caused by IBDV, NDV and ILTV that threaten poultry health and production worldwide.”
