Hester has signed the agreement towards receiving the indigenously developed technology from ICAR-IVRI (Indian Council of Agriculture Research – Indian Veterinary Research Institute), for developing the Brucella Abortus S19 Delta Per vaccine.

The agreement was signed through a video conference on September 22, 2020.

“While Hester is currently manufacturing the conventional Brucella Abortus S19 vaccine and supplying to all the states in India, the S19 Delta Per new generation vaccine technology developed by IVRI will be a step forward towards developing a Brucella vaccine with enhanced safety, immunogenicity, as well as assuring lifelong immunity with a single shot in calf-hood,” informed the company through a statement.

The Government of India has planned to immunise four crore female calves in India in the first phase against Brucella through vaccination.

“Hester has been and commits to remain a part of the Government of India’s immunisation program against Brucella in cattle. With this vaccine Hester hopes to reach new heights not only within India but also become a channel for immunising cattle against Brucella, worldwide,” informed the statement.

The technology is developed by Dr Pallab Chaudhari and his team from ICAR-IVRI with support from Biotech Consortium India and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

Brucella is a disease of economic importance worldwide. Not only does it impact cattle, sheep, goat and swine, but it also gets transmitted to human beings.

Hester hopes to launch the Brucella Abortus S19 Delta Per vaccine in 18 months.