Happy Birthday Inovoject
The poultry industry is celebrating a significant milestone in 2022: it is 30 years since in ovo vaccination was used commercially for the first time
Zaventem, Belgium – March 21, 2022 –In 1992, the Inovoject® device launched by Embrex® was a major advance in poultry health, ending the devastating impact of Marek’s Disease on poultry flocks in the United States. Since then, the groundbreaking technology has continued to develop and expand to cover other common poultry diseases complementing the continuum of care for poultry in preventing diseases thanks to automated vaccination.
“Embrex® BioDevices® are now used to inject more than 20 billion eggs every year in 30 countries around the world. And we are incredibly proud of the positive impact it has had since it was first used commercially,” said Glenn David, Executive Vice President and Group President, International Operations, Aquaculture, BioDevices and Pet Insurance. “It has grown from a completely new technology into an industry standard which has played a major part in improving the health, welfare, profitability and sustainability of modern poultry production.”
“The technology was pioneered by Embrex at its headquarters in North Carolina. Over several years the company designed and tested a device that could deliver vaccine in ovo in a commercial environment,” said Curtis Shuey, Vice President, International Biodevices. “The delivery mechanism had to overcome many practical challenges, but it evolved over time until it was able to deliver great levels of protection without any significant losses. During this process we worked very closely with businesses to understand their needs and to adapt the device to meet them. And we still use that same approach with our customers today.”
The top poultry producer in the USA, Tyson Foods, was an early adopter of the new technology and showed the way for many other producers. Now, more than 80% of poultry in North America is protected against Marek’s in this way and more broiler hatcheries use Embrex® Inovoject® devices than any other vaccination system.
Over recent decades additional systems such as Vaccine Saver®, Egg Remover®, Chick Counter, HAYLO™ technology and Precixion™ technology have been developed to further enhance the usefulness of the device. Research has also looked at vectors that protect against multiple diseases to further extend the benefits of in ovo vaccination against a range of different diseases.
“The technology has been developed so well over the last 30 years that the quality and reliability enables pharmaceutical companies to use our devices in the production of human influenza vaccine as well as many animal health vaccines,” concluded Curtis Shuey.
About Zoetis
As the world’s leading animal health company, Zoetis is driven by a singular purpose: to nurture our world and humankind by advancing care for animals. After nearly 70 years innovating ways to predict, prevent, detect, and treat animal illness, Zoetis continues to stand by those raising and caring for animals worldwide - from livestock farmers to veterinarians and pet owners. The company’s leading portfolio and pipeline of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and technologies make a difference in over 100 countries. A Fortune 500 company, Zoetis generated revenue of $7.8 billion in 2021 with ~12,100 employees. For more, visit www.zoetis.com.
Source: Zoetis Press Release