Zoetis announced on Friday the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) issued the company a conditional license for its Avian Influenza Vaccine, H5N2 Subtype, Killed Virus. The vaccine is labelled for use in chickens. The conditional license was granted on the demonstration of safety, purity, and reasonable expectation of efficacy based on serology data. Zoetis reports it has been committed to supporting poultry producers with scientific solutions for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The decision to vaccinate commercial poultry flocks against HPAI rests solely with national regulatory authorities in partnership with the poultry industry. According to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), more than 150 million birds in the U.S. have been affected with HPAI since February 2022, including in backyard and commercial flocks. A conditional license is used to meet an emergency condition, limited market, local situation or other special circumstance and is issued for a finite period of time. Conditional licenses may be renewed at the discretion of the CVB.
