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Elanco partners with Medgene to launch HPAI vaccine for dairy cattle 

Elanco Animal Health has partnered with Medgene to launch the first highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccine for dairy cattle.

Tim Bettington is executive vice president of corporate strategy and market development for Elanco.

“Our ability to vaccinate those animals and potentially eliminate transmission also means healthier animals,” he says. “The impact to the animals is the biggest thing. It’s reduced milk production, reduced profitability and value for the dairy producer themselves. Making sure we can have as many healthy animals as possible is key.” 

He tells Brownfield the goal is to limit the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“And the overall quality of the herd,” he says. “With the speed at which we’ve been able to move with Medgene, I think it has been pretty impressive for us to try and do something. We look forward to being able to solve that issue in the future and hope we get approval as soon as possible.”

Bettington says the vaccine is currently in the review process for conditional license approval, but a specific date for availability hasn’t been confirmed.

According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, sixteen new cases of the virus in dairy cattle have recently been confirmed within the last month. More than 970 dairy farms have been impacted by HPAI.

AUDIO: Tim Bettington, Elanco Animal Health