Successful Poultry Trial
Melbourne, Feb 1, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Anatara Lifesciences (
ASX:ANR) is pleased to announce successful completion of the poultry challenge trial "Efficacy of ANR-pf on the performance of broilers subject to subclinical and necrotic enteritis challenges".
ANR-pf is Anatara's proprietary enriched formulation for poultry in water, designed to allow the full delivery of key additives in a quick and flexible dosing method on-farm even when stock illness is a concern. The study was a randomised, placebo controlled trial. The parameters analysed were bird weight gain (WG), feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and more complex analysis such as an intestinal lesion score of necrosis and ulceration, and oocyst count in the excreta.
Necrotic enteritis (NE) in broiler chickens is a common disease found in all poultry-growing areas of the world which can be controlled by antibiotics. Increasing concerns regarding antibiotic resistance and the presence of drug residues in bacteria during animal production have led many countries to ban the use of antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed. There is a consensus that the sub-clinical form of the disease is more important than the clinical form because it may persist in broiler flocks without overt clinical manifestation. Moreover, due to the large hidden economic costs associated with sub-clinical NE, and also because of the high risk of pathogen transfer to the food chain, this problem is perceived amongst the industry and public health experts as a major issue. With a European ban and worldwide phasing-out of in-feed antibiotics, the focus on alternative strategies has increased to secure chicken health and thus the efficiency of poultry production.
In the presence of a necrotic enteritis challenge, ANR-pf in water provides a positive effect on both performance and health as measured by lesion scores and the shedding of oocysts compared to untreated birds. Lesion scores measure the extent of necrosis and ulceration resulting from necrotic enteritis. Oocysts are a stage in the life cycle of coccidian parasites. An oocyst count is a measure of the extent of coccidiosis. Mild coccidiosis is a predisposing factor to induce necrotic enteritis.
When analysed over the entire experimental period (0-35 days), treatment with ANR-pf in water provided benefit when compared to untreated birds in weight gain (p=0.007), feed intake (p=0.039), as well as lesion scores in both the jejunum (p=0.040) and ileum (p=0.035), and oocyst shedding (p <0.05). The difference in feed conversion rate was also improved, though failed to reach statistical significance.
CEO Steve Lydeamore said, "While this was an initial study, the results we have seen are extremely encouraging and point to a potentially commercially valuable product for development. Further work to optimise the dose and dosing regimen will help to cement the product's value."
About Anatara Lifesciences Limited
Anatara Lifesciences Limited (ASX:ANR) is developing and commercialising innovative, evidence-based products for gastrointestinal health where there is significant unmet need. Anatara is a life sciences company with expertise in developing productsfor human and animal health. Anatara is focused on building a pipeline of human gastrointestinal health products. Underlying this product development program is our commitment to delivering real outcomes for patients and strong value for our shareholders.
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