Bayer to strengthen its portfolio of products for farm animals with new cryptosporidiosis treatment options derived from ParaTheraTech.

December 12, 2018

2 Min Read
Bayer Animal Health, PTT to tackle calf diarrhea
Bayer AG

Bayer Animal Health GmbH and ParaTheraTech Inc. (PTT) have signed a global license agreement to advance new cryptosporidiosis treatment options for farm animals. As part of the license agreement, Bayer will develop and commercialize novel compounds based on knowledge and intellectual property licensed by PTT from the University of Washington, the Dec. 12 announcement said. Further terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

“Cryptosporidiosis is considered one of the biggest unsolved parasite problems in dairy cattle. The license agreement with PTT will enable us to support farmers and veterinarians in tackling this health and well-being concern: early-life diarrhea caused by cryptosporidium,” said Dr. Douglas Hutchens, Bayer Animal Health head of drug discovery, external innovation and chief veterinary officer.

The dairy and beef industry experience calf mortality rates in the range of 5-15%, Bayer said, noting that early-life diarrhea is very common and one of the main causes for death in young calves. Since cryptosporidium is a highly infectious diarrhea pathogen, the topic is high on the agenda of vets and farmers.

“Today, cryptosporidium is prevalent on 30-70% of the farms worldwide,” Bayer Animal Health head of dairy innovation and science intelligence Dr. Christina Mertens explained. “Therefore, the license agreement with PTT is a strong signal to our customers around the world: We are committed to helping farmers and vets fight one of the most important diseases in young calves by strengthening our research and development of novel treatment options against cryptosporidiosis.”

PTT chief executive officer Dr. Wes VanVoorhis said his company is "pleased to partner with Bayer Animal Health on this most exciting project. We look forward to the real benefit farmers will experience from the product we will develop with Bayer Animal Health.”

The University of Washington’s collaborative innovation hub, CoMotion, assisted PTT with patent filing and strategy, an Innovation Gap Fund grant and support for other funding and also supported the company in licensing exclusive rights to the compound.

PTT is a U.S. biopharma company located in Seattle, Wash., and Westport, Wis.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and agriculture.

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