September 11, 2012

 

MSD's aquaculture laboratory renamed MSD Animal Health

 

Press release

 

 

Over the past 12 years, a research and development laboratory which has greatly added to the rapid growth of warm water aquaculture health has changed its name to MSD Animal Health Innovation Pte. Ltd.

 

The new name reflects the laboratory's parent company, MSD Animal Health (known as Merck Animal Health in the US and Canada), which is the world's leading developer of vaccines and pharmaceuticals for aquaculture and is the animal health business of MSD, a global healthcare leader.

 

The 9,000-square metre research facility is the Asia-Pacific region's only research laboratory specialising in warm water aquaculture. It was previously known as Intervet Norbio Singapore Pte. Ltd., which along with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health was acquired by MSD in 2009. Since 2000, the laboratory has accumulated more than 2,300 bacterial strains plus 16 viral isolates of pathogens and 20 cell lines. This has already led to the development and commercialisation of eight vaccines for temperate and warm-water fish species.

 

"We have been adding to our knowledge base of diseases and epidemiology," said Siow Foong Chang, R&D manager at the Singapore research facility.

 

This enhanced understanding of aquatic animal diseases has also benefited Latin America and other producers of warm water fish.

 

"Fish are cold-blooded and each species has an optimal temperature range at which they can be cultured economically," noted Luc Grisez, director aquaculture R&D at MSD Animal Health.

 

"The optimal temperature for a fish species is linked to the optimal temperature range for the pathogens affecting that species. Hence, disease agents among tilapia in Asia are similar or identical to the disease agents in Latin America and similar markets. Likewise, pathogens affecting yellowtail in Japan also affect European sea bass, since these species are cultured in similar temperatures."

 

According to Grisez, the Singapore facility was designed to conduct research with aquatic species in freshwater, full-strength seawater or anything in-between. In addition, water temperature can be set within a range from 18°C to 34°C." The laboratory includes 100 tanks, which enables scientists to adjust to virtually all temperate and warm-water aquatic conditions in the world.

 

This Research & Development effort has paved the way for MSD Animal Health to develop vaccines for warm water fish, including freshwater species such as tilapia and catfish as well as marine fish such as yellowtail, Asian sea bass (barramundi) and red sea bream.

 

"Diseases have been a bottleneck for expansion of aquaculture in Asia," Chang said, "and in some markets, there has been an over-reliance on antimicrobials. Vaccination is an important component of the comprehensive, sustainable health programmes that are needed to ensure good production performance and profitability."

 

The development of vaccines for warm water aquaculture has also created demand for diagnostic services, which the Singapore laboratory routinely provided for MSD Animal Health customers. The downside to that trend, however, was that diagnostic services quickly stretched the resources of the R&D facility and interfered with its original mission to develop new products for aquaculture.

Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. MSD

 

Animal Health, known as Merck Animal Health in the US and Canada, is the global animal health business unit of Merck.