Accelerating Veterinary Vaccines
Veterinary vaccines play a critical role in keeping animals healthy
Vaccines are one of the most successful and meaningful tools in animal health. Through vaccines we have been able to keep our companions safe, livestock healthy. Vaccines have also played a critical role in the eradication of Rinderpest, a devastating cattle disease that ravaged cattle populations and destroyed livelihood of farmers for hundreds of years. More recently, newly emerging diseases have regularly threatened the health of animals and people’s food supplies. Examples include the Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive System (PRRS) virus, the Porcine Circovirus 2 (PCV2), the Bluetongue virus, the Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) or the African Swine Fever virus. In many cases development of vaccines against these threats has averted grave damage and ensured animals continued health.
Fast response
Veterna is committed to bringing new veterinary vaccines quicker to the market than ever before. To date it takes about 5 to 6 years from identifying a new disease to making a vaccine widely available. Times vary between countries based on different regulatory requirements, but include the identification of a vaccine technology, establishing a manufacturing process and conducting studies that ensure safety and efficacy of the product. The emergence of the mRNA vaccine platform technology provides the opportunity to accelerate many of these steps and to faster provide solutions for emerging infectious diseases. Depending on support by the regulatory authorities a vaccine can be delivered in a matter of months.
Animal welfare is a duty
Preventing the suffering and death associated with many infectious diseases is an important aspect for ensuring animal wellbeing. In addition, livestock farmers rely on the health of their animals for ensuring their livelihood. Especially in small farms with few animals, the loss of animals can make the difference between continuing or bankruptcy. Reducing the time for providing a vaccine against emerging diseases has a substantial impact on animal welfare and can be decisive for the ability of farmers to provide for their families.
Beyond mature markets
Animal husbandry is a key component of the food supply also in emerging markets and a substantial proportion of animals is raised by small holders. So far vaccines developed specifically meeting the needs of this segment of the market are very limited, often leaving these farmers exposed. A strength of replicating RNA based vaccines is the ability to reduce cost for development and production, provided regulatory authorities support the tradeoffs needed for such an approach. Therefore, replicating RNA has the potential to solve many of the issues of farmers in emerging markets that were beyond the scope of past vaccine developments.
