ECO and Ghent University Sign Poultry Vaccine Development Licencing Deal

13 February 2019

 

ECO Animal Health Ltd (ECO), a wholly owned subsidiary of ECO Animal Health Group plc, is pleased to announce that it has entered a worldwide exclusive development and licencing deal with Ghent University-PROVAXS.

This deal allows ECO to further develop, register and commercialize a Clostridium perfringens vaccine for poultry based on antigens co-developed by Prof. Filip Van Immerseel (Laboratory of Bacteriology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Ghent University) and Prof. Rick Titball (College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter). Clostridium perfringens is a bacterium which normally inhabits the gastrointestinal system but when predisposing triggers are present, specific strains can cause necrotic enteritis with major consequences for bird health and growth.

Peter Lawrence, Non-Executive Chairman of ECO Animal Health Group plc commented:

“We are delighted to have entered into this collaboration with Ghent University. Necrotic enteritis can result in a significant reduction in body weight and increase in feed conversion rate when compared with healthy broilers”.

Professor Van Immerseel, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University said:

“We look forward to collaborating with ECO Animal Health on the development of this candidate vaccine into a practical tool for the prevention of necrotic enteritis thereby further supporting the global poultry industry in adopting a sustainable approach to the management of this disease”.