ECO Animal Health enters development deal with Agrinnovation

ECO Animal Health has entered a development and licensing deal with Agrinnovation and the Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, it announced on Monday.

The AIM-traded company said the deal, based on a number of milestone payments, would allow it to licence patented research related innovations leading to the development of a “unique” long-acting injectable florfenicol product to treat swine bacterial respiratory disease with a single dose.

It described florfenicol as an antimicrobial, used only in veterinary medicine, with the product expected to complement both the spectrum of activity and the oral route of administration of ECO’s patented molecule for the treatment of economically-important diseases in pigs and poultry, ‘Aivlosin’.

“Recent market research has indicated that treatment for respiratory disease accounts for over 40% of antimicrobial treatments in finishing pigs,” said ECO Animal Health non-executive chairman Peter Lawrence.

“We are delighted to have entered this collaboration with Agrinnovation.”

Dr Ido Schechter, chief executive officer of Agrinnovation, added that his firm was “excited” to enter the collaboration with ECO.

“[It] underscores the promise of agricultural research at Hebrew University and supports our vision of sustainable agriculture around the world through collaborations between industry and academic organisations.”