A DNA-derived vaccine has been taken into use in Norway, fish-health outfit, FOMAS, has announced.
SalmonBusiness has learned from Alsaker Fjorbruk, a major grower south of Bergen, that its subsidiary, Fjon Bruk, has inoculated fish at its Sveio facility.
Elanco’s Clynav vaccine has been developed to combat pancreas disease by including plasmid DNA as genetic coding for important structural proteins in SAV3 (a plasmid, according to Wikipedia, is a small DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from a chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently).
Vaccine dominance
“I am completely sure that this will be the dominant vaccine in Norway,” FOMAS’s Solveig Nygaard told SalmonBusiness.
Fish vaccinated with the vaccine will not be classified as gene-modified. The vaccine has been tested on fish destined to be placed out to sea in spring, 2018.
“This is a completely new technology. European news. And this is the first time it’s being used on fish. A plasmid that’s injected into the fish makes it create an antigen against the PD virus. This type of vaccine has salvaged the whole industry in Canada against IHN (infectious haematopoietic necrosis),” she said.
Unafraid
Elanco in the summer of 2017 received the rights to the vaccine’s trademark in Norway despite protests from The Norwegian Medicines Agency against the vaccine’s widespread use ahead of more safety and bioeffects tests.
“I’m very excited and not very afraid of bioeffects. After seeing the effects in Canada I’m very optimistic. I’m very excited and it’s good that someone dares,” she said.
Fjon Bruk’s manager, Helge Daae, was not available for further comment.
