IDT Biologika, a global leader in vaccines, announced that it has established a new organization to serve the animal health needs of veterinarians, farmers and government agencies in the Americas. IDT Animal Health Americas will leverage the company's global expertise and technology to offer an innovative range of high-quality autogenous, wildlife and commercial vaccines and diagnostic solutions for use in animals.

“Following IDT's acquisitions in North America in 2015 and the recent acquisition of Ridgeway Biologicals Ltd. in the United Kingdom, the new organization further strengthens IDT's presence around the globe and unites all quality animal health development, production, approval and distribution activities for the Americas under one umbrella,” Andreas Kastenbauer, head of IDT's global animal health division, said. “By organizing our Animal Health business in the U.S. and Canada — arguably two of the most important markets in the world — we are rapidly advancing toward our goal of becoming the leading autogenous and commercial vaccine manufacturer in the Americas.”

An experienced and fully integrated leadership team will guide the IDT Animal Health Americas operations, according to the announcement. José Ochoa, who joined IDT from Emergent BioSolutions in 2015, has been appointed head of the new regional business unit for the Americas, responsible for overall growth and operations. He takes on this new role within animal health while maintaining his position as chief business officer with IDT Biologika Corp. in Rockville, Md.

Jackie Gallant, founder and president of Gallant Custom Laboratories, sits on IDT's Scientific Advisory Board and will continue to oversee research and development of innovative autogenous biologics, with a focus on serving animal health customers throughout Canada. She will be supported by Dr. Guy Moser, general manager of Gallant Custom Laboratories, and Sam Mostafa, also with Gallant, who will serve as key account manager for animal health vaccines in Canada. Kastenbauer, IDT managing director, will continue to head the global animal health division.

“IDT brings to the Americas deep and broad disease fighting expertise in a wide range of animal health conditions that impact livestock, poultry and wildlife, including salmonella, edema, influenza, rabies and more,” Ochoa said. “We are currently building a sales network for solutions in swine diseases and our pipeline products. The company will continue to invest in the people and infrastructure needed to realize our full potential and to support future expansion into Latin America.”

IDT Biologika is a privately held life science company with nearly 100 years of history and expertise in the research, development and manufacturing of biologics for the global protection of human and animal health.

IDT is building a global animal health vaccine network, which was just recently bolstered by the acquisition of Ridgeway Biologicals Ltd. on Jan. 5. Ridgeway is a leading manufacturer for autogenous animal health vaccines in the U.K. In addition, Gallant Custom Laboratories, acquired last summer, is now fully integrated into the IDT family of companies and helps IDT meet the regional and local manufacturing needs of customers that provide vaccines to the livestock and poultry industry.

The company's headquarters are in Dessau-Rosslau, Germany, and it has an additional animal health vaccine-dedicated research, development and manufacturing location in Greifswald, Riems. In Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, France and Spain, IDT's Animal Health Business Unit operates through its own subsidiaries.

In its U.S. manufacturing facility in Rockville, IDT Biologika primarily works on vaccine development for clinical phase 1 and 2 projects and provides early development capabilities for the human vaccine market.

IDT Biologika is a company of Klocke Holding Group.

Swine vaccine launched

IDT Biologika concurrently launched its first fully licensed swine vaccine for Canada during the Banff Pork Seminar. Ecoporc SHIGA is a vaccine that reduces clinical symptoms, animal losses and antibiotic use related to edema disease in swine, according to the announcement.

Edema disease is an acute, often fatal enterotoxemia of recently weaned pigs caused by specific virotypes of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli. Edema disease causes serious losses to the pig industry, resulting in a high rate of mortality among infected pigs.

“Vaccines like Ecoporc SHIGA are vitally important to animal welfare, disease prevention and consumer protection. By reducing antibiotic use, vaccination is a modern solution contributing to public health,” Dr. Gallant said. The product, which was granted Canada-wide approval last year, will soon be available to veterinarians and farmers.