An Athens-based biotech company wins international recognition for its work to develop a honeybee virus vaccine: Dalan Animal Health, with a lab on the campus of the University of Georgia, is named to a list of Next Big Things in Tech in the International Zendal Awards. Dalan was recognized earlier this year by Time magazine for its work on the vaccine, which looks to head off a virus that has been impacting honeybee colonies around the world.
From Dalan Animal Health…
Dalan Animal Health, Inc., the biotech company specializing in insect health, today announced that it has been included in the 2023 Fast Company Next Big Thing in Tech list in recognition of its innovative animal health solution, a the world’s first vaccine to protect honeybees against American Foulbrood (AFB), a devastating disease that weakens and kills honeybee colonies globally, compromising our global food supply. This honor marks the third award in a series of top industry recognitions bestowed to Dalan this quarter.
In addition to Fast Company, Dalan has also been awarded the animal health innovator recognition by International Zendal Awards, which celebrates and financially awards innovative biotechnology solutions, as well as recent inclusion on TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023 in the sustainability category for the promise the vaccine holds for both protecting honeybees and advancing greater biodiversity.
“Pollinators are the building blocks of our food supply and play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem biodiversity. Without them, the global food supply as we know it ceases to exist,” said Dr. Annette Kleiser, co-founder and CEO of Dalan Animal Health. “Our honeybee vaccine represents an important milestone in the collective fight for increased invertebrate health and environmental sustainability as we enable beekeepers to access proactive solutions for healthy, productive hives.”
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), honeybees pollinate about one-third of the crops globally and are responsible for producing an estimated $15 billion worth of crops. Dalan’s first-of-its-kind vaccine is a safe, organic, non-GMO, non-chemical prophylactic tool that empowers beekeepers to protect their hives without the use of antibiotics.
Since its development, the vaccine quickly received conditional market authorization for its groundbreaking vaccine in both the United States and Canada, expanding Dalan’s ever-widening reach to beekeepers globally.
About the vaccine Dalan’s vaccine uses killed whole-cell Paenibacillus larvae bacteria and is administered by mixing it into queen feed consumed by worker bees. The vaccine is incorporated into the royal jelly by the worker bees, who then feed it to the queen. The queen ingests the vaccine, and fragments are deposited in her ovaries, providing immunity to the developing larvae. The non-GMO vaccine can be used in organic agriculture, and pivotal efficacy studies have shown its potential to reduce larval death associated with American Foulbrood infections caused by P. larvae.
About Dalan Animal Health, Inc Dalan Animal Health (www.dalan.com) is dedicated to bringing the world transformative animal health solutions to support a more sustainable future. This platform vaccine technology uses transgenerational immune priming, allowing the maternal animal to pass immune modulators (e.g., antigens, anti-microbial molecules) to the next generation larvae before they hatch. Dalan plans to develop vaccines for other honeybee diseases and underserved industries, such as shrimp, mealworms, and insects used in agriculture. The company is headquartered in Athens, Georgia, at the University of Georgia’s Innovation Hub.