Market assessment for novel, natural product derived animal health therapeutics

Acidophil is laying the groundwork for a UK-based animal health biotech company and has
on-going programs to develop novel natural product based medicines. This project aims to
further develop Acidophil’s view of optimal routes to market with an emphasis on regulatory
and competitive environments and patent landscape. This information is necessary to support
efforts to raise investment necessary to develop this opportunity and build value for the UK
economy.
Animal health is a compelling market, but relatively neglected by biotechnology. The global
animal health industry for livestock and companion animals is £60-67 billion, with medicines
comprising £22 billion of the market. Agriculture, both crops and livestock, is a key pillar of
the UK economy. The UK is famously a nation of animal enthusiasts, with a large population
of companion animals.. European sales accounted for 32% of the worldwide animal medicine
sales, making it the second largest market after the United States.
Threats to animal health are costly: for example livestock losses due to invertebrate pests total
£34 billion worldwide each year. Additionally, the long-term task of preventing animal
diseases costs the UK about £100 million per year. Agents currently used to protect livestock
are gradually losing effectiveness due to development of resistance and emergence of new
pests, yet few new agents are entering the market.
Acidophil’s innovation consists of using synthetic biology and chemistry to make novel and
improved parasiticides that can overcome pest resistance and target a broad range of pests.
Success will result in valuable products for livestock and companion animal protection. This
program of research and resultant intellectual property are being supported, in part, by
Innovate UK through the Agri-Tech Catalyst scheme. While the development of active
compounds is underway, the question of where they deliver the most value in animal health
remains.