Chilean pharmaceutical company Corporación Farmaceutica Recalcine applied Wednesday (Aug 13, 2008) for approval to conduct field tests for a new vaccine against infectious salmon anemia (ISA), which has caused millions in losses for the country's fish farms in recent months.

If successful, the vaccine would halt a plague that has wiped out 16 salmon-farming centres in Chile's southern regions last year, according to the Patagonia Times.

Recalcine researcher Alejandro Weinstein told the news agency the company's vaccine is the first specific to Chilean salmon stocks. Although there are currently vaccines for ISA, they target the Norwegian strain and do not accommodate for important differences in the virus's behavior in Chile, he added.

The company is seeking approval from the National Fishery Service (Sernapesca) to conduct field tests.

The vaccine development project began at the end of last year with the formation of a 10-member international team of animal virology experts.