Zivo Bioscience has explained that new trial results confirm the efficacy of its non-antibiotic product candidate for the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis in broiler chickens.
Zivo Bioscience, Inc., a biotech/agtech R&D company engaged in the development of therapeutic, medicinal and nutritional product candidates derived from proprietary algal cultures, has announced positive results from a month-long coccidiosis trial in broiler chickens that was conducted by an independent veterinary research provider. The study evaluating the Company’s novel immune-modulating biologic for treating coccidiosis in broiler chickens examined multiple product lots as well as multiple product test concentrations and produced statistically significant positive outcomes in the treated groups.
Coccidiosis is a protozoal disease that causes diarrhea, weight loss, decreased performance, and increased mortality in poultry. This disease represents a significant economic challenge for the global poultry industry, as indicated by a 2020 study that estimated annual costs ranging from $10 billion to $17 billion (Re-calculating the Cost of Coccidiosis in Chickens; Blake, D., Knox, J., et al.). Products for treating coccidiosis are mostly antibiotic or ionophore-based, and no commercially significant new technology has been introduced in the past 60 years.
According to the company’s statement, the disease challenge used in this trial closely replicated conditions often seen in commercial broiler production facilities experiencing a coccidiosis outbreak, including commercially relevant incidence and severity of intestinal lesions, mortality, and other disease related measures. Birds treated with ZIVO’s product candidate demonstrated statistically significant improvements across all measures of broiler health examined. Diseased chickens treated with elevated doses of ZIVO’s product candidate exhibited reductions in disease-related effects to a level seen in healthy birds.
“These results are very encouraging as they demonstrate our product’s potential to mitigate the effects of coccidiosis while acting through a highly desirable non-antibiotic mechanism of action. We now plan to launch the final phase of the product candidate’s validation, which involves a 42-day confirmatory study performed under broiler industry-relevant conditions such as those used in the present study. We expect to have results from this confirmatory study near the end of 2023,” said John Payne, CEO and Chairman of ZIVO Bioscience.
The results of this recent study of multiple product batches, including product used in the inconclusive study earlier this year, align with those of over 20 prior successful trials that closely replicated disease levels observed in commercial production settings. Thus, validating that ZIVO’s product candidate maintains stability over an extended period, with no decrease in its effectiveness. As a result, ZIVO remains confident that its novel product candidate for broiler chickens presents a disruptive solution to coccidiosis, one of the most significant challenges facing the global poultry industry.
“ZIVO’s biotech business is a significant driver of value creation, and we are prioritizing our coccidiosis candidate and working with the USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics on the regulatory path toward licensure of a product for the treatment and prevention of this disease. This strategy best optimizes value by achieving sustainable revenue in the shortest timeframe possible. In addition to the poultry market, our research suggests there are numerous additional health benefits and disease treatments to be derived from our proprietary algal culture for livestock, companion animals, and humans. We intend to pursue those additional opportunities, as well, should resources become available,” added Payne.
