Harrisvaccines Receives Production Platform Vaccine Licensure First of its Kind Granted by USDA
Merck Animal Health today announced that its recent acquisition, Harrisvaccines, has been granted licensure of its Prescription Product, RNA Particle (RP) vaccine platform from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This first-of-its-kind USDA license approves the company’s innovative production platform and allows for the manufacturing of herd-specific, custom vaccines prescribed by a licensed veterinarian.
“This platform license validates a decade of work – and the technology – that has enabled us to respond so quickly to emerging diseases,” said Jodi French, Regulatory Affairs, Merck Animal Health. “It also enables our team to provide customized solutions to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers.”
The RP technology platform is used to make vaccines for swine, bovine, equine, avian, companion animal and farmed aquaculture diseases. Pathogens are collected from a farm and specific genes are sequenced and synthetically inserted into the platform creating RNA particles, making safe, potent vaccines able to provide herd-specific protection. This system was instrumental in producing the first conditionally licensed vaccine to help control Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), a deadly virus that has killed more than eight million piglets since suddenly emerging in the United States in 2013. It also was utilized to produce a conditionally licensed vaccine against H5 Avian Influenza, which was subsequently awarded a USDA Stockpile in October 2015.
“Merck Animal Health has a long-standing history of developing innovative, high-quality vaccines,” said Rick Sibbel, D.V.M., Executive Director, Food Animal Technical Services, Merck Animal Health. “Bringing on board this technology and production platform serves to further support and enhance our ongoing commitment to the science of healthier animals.”
About Merck Animal Health
Today’s Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to the Science of Healthier Animals™, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest range of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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