Dalan Animal Health, Inc. , a biotech company pioneering insect health, announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted a conditional license for vaccination of honeybees against American Foulbrood disease caused by Paenibacillus larvae.

Honeybees are a critical component of agriculture. One-third of the global food supply relies on pollination, and healthy commercial hives are essential to secure high crop yields. However, honeybees are plagued by American Foulbrood, with previously no safe and sustainable solution for disease prevention. Overt clinical cases of American Foulbrood are notifiable in the USA and Canada, and the only treatment method relies on the incineration of bees and infected hives and equipment.

“This is an exciting step forward for beekeepers, as we rely on antibiotic treatment that has limited effectiveness and requires lots of time and energy to apply to our hives,” explained Trevor Tauzer, owner of Tauzer Apiaries and board member of the California State Beekeepers Association. “If we can prevent an infection in our hives, we can avoid costly treatments and focus our energy on other important elements of keeping our bees healthy.”

“We are committed to providing innovative solutions to protect our pollinators and promote sustainable agriculture. Global population growth and changing climates will increase the importance of honeybee pollination to secure our food supply. Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honeybees. We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale,” said Dr. Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health.

The bacterin was developed by Dalan Animal Health, and is manufactured by Diamond Animal Health (Des Moines, IA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heska (“Heska”; NASDAQ: HSKA). “We are grateful for the help and assistance that Diamond has been able to offer – not just in manufacturing development, but also regulatory expertise,” said Kleiser. The USDA has issued the conditional license in the first instance for two years. Dalan will distribute the vaccine on a limited basis to commercial beekeepers and anticipates having the vaccine available for purchase in the United States in 2023.