Zoetis, a New Jersey-based pharmaceutical firm, has been granted a conditional license by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its avian influenza vaccine designed for chickens. This vaccine specifically targets the H5N2 subtype of the virus, which has impacted both poultry and humans. This development comes as the U.S. grapples with a significant avian flu outbreak, affecting over 150 million birds since February 2022, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

The vaccine is not yet commercially available. A Zoetis spokesperson clarified that the decision to implement vaccination programs for commercial poultry flocks rests with national regulatory authorities in consultation with their respective poultry sectors.

Dr. Mahesh Kumar, senior vice president of global biologics research and development at Zoetis, explained that their team began updating their existing avian influenza vaccine as soon as the new HPAI strain emerged in early 2022. Zoetis has a history of developing bird flu vaccines, having first worked on them during outbreaks in Southeast Asia in the early 2000s. They also received a conditional license for an H5N1 vaccine in 2016, which was used to protect California condors.

Jacob Glanville, CEO and president of Centivax, a biotechnology company, welcomed the news, emphasizing the importance of vaccinating animal populations to control the H5N1 outbreak and protect farmers. He contrasted this approach with the current practice of culling entire flocks, which he described as disruptive and economically damaging. However, Glanville also cautioned that the Zoetis H5N2 vaccine might not be a perfect match for the currently circulating strain, potentially leading to the virus adapting and continuing to spread. He expressed the need for similar vaccines for other susceptible animals like cows and cats.

According to the CDC, there have been 68 human cases of bird flu in the U.S. to date.