OTTAWA, Sept. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avivagen Inc. (TSXV:VIV) (“Avivagen”), is pleased to announce that it has received its first order for OxC-beta™ Livestock in Thailand. The 100kg order also represents the first time OxC-beta™ Livestock will be used for commercial application in sow feeds.
Use in sow feeds, which is a new application of the product, is of further significance as it provides the first commercial validation of research findings showing that OxC-beta™ Livestock positively impacts sow health, milk quality and the health of nursing piglets. Commercial validation in Thailand is expected to positively influence adoption for use in sows in other countries.
Sows, being large animals with a requirement for a large volume of high-quality feed (approximately 1 metric tonne per year per sow), are a valuable sector of the swine feed market. There are approximately 860,000 sowsi in Thailand while the Philippines has approximately 560,000 sowsii. Thus, use in sows opens up access to an additional 1.4 million metric tonnes of feed in these two markets.
With a total of 18 million metric tonnesiii of feed consumed annually, Thailand represents a significant new market for Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ Livestock product. For reference, the Philippines, where OxC-beta™ Livestock has been in commercial use for over a year, consumes 17 million metric tonnesiv of feed annually, up dramatically from 11.75 million metric tonnes in 2016v. The commercial use of OxC-beta™ Livestock has been ramping up steadily in the Philippines and Avivagen believes that the scale-up of OxC-beta™ Livestock use in Thailand will mirror that of the Philippines.
OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be effective and economic in replacing the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. OxC-beta™ Livestock is currently registered and available for sale in the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and New Zealand. Avivagen intends to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its OxC-beta™ Livestock product, a product that has the potential to eliminate the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in livestock feed, which is a problem that needs an urgent solution.
About Avivagen
Avivagen is a life sciences corporation focused on developing and commercializing products for livestock, companion animal and human applications that, by safely supporting immune function, promote general health and performance. It is a public corporation traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol VIV and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, based in partnership facilities of the National Research Council of Canada and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. For more information, visit www.avivagen.com. The contents of the website are expressly not incorporated by reference in this press release.
About OxC-beta™ Technology and OxC-beta™ Livestock
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ technology is derived from Avivagen discoveries about carotenoids, compounds that give certain fruits and vegetables their bright colours, and is a non-antibiotic means of maintaining optimal health and growth. OxC-beta™ Livestock is a proprietary product shown to be effective and economic in replacing the antibiotics commonly added to livestock feeds. OxC-beta™ Livestock is currently registered and available for sale in the Philippines, Taiwan, New Zealand and Thailand.
Avivagen’s OxC-beta™ Livestock product is safe, effective and could fulfill the global mandate to remove all in-feed antibiotics as growth promoters. Numerous international livestock trials with poultry and swine using OxC-beta™ Livestock have proven that the product performs as well as, and, sometimes, in some aspects, better than in-feed antibiotics.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon the current expectations of management. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties associated with the business of Avivagen Inc. and the environment in which the business operates. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking, including those identified by the expressions “aim”, “anticipate”, “appear”, “believe”, “consider”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “if”, “intend”, “goal”, “hope”, “likely”, “may”, “plan”, “possibly”, “potentially”, “pursue”, “seem”, “should”, “whether”, “will”, “would” and similar expressions. Statements set out in this news release relating to Avivagen’s belief that the scale-up of OxC-beta™ Livestock use in Thailand will mirror that of the Philippines, the expectation that Thailand will continue to order product at the current rate or increase orders, the effect that validation in Thailand will have on adoption for use in sows in other countries, the possibility for deployment or launch of OxC-beta™ Livestock in new jurisdictions around the world or for it to replace antibiotics in livestock feeds as well as fill a critical need for health support in certain livestock applications where antibiotics are precluded, Avivagen’s intention to accelerate market access and the commercial uptake of its OxC-beta™ Livestock product and the size of market opportunities are all forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. For instance, Avivagen’s customer in Thailand is under no obligation to continue purchasing product from Avivagen or to increase its purchases, take up of Avivagen’s products in Thailand may be at a different rate than that of the Philippines for any number of reasons, Avivagen’s sales into Thailand may not have the desired effects on adoption in other countries, Avivagen’s products may not gain market acceptance or regulatory approval in new jurisdictions or for new applications and may not be widely accepted as a replacement for antibiotics in livestock feeds, new market access may not occur in the timeline or manner expected by Avivagen and the market opportunities may not be as large as Avivagen anticipates due to many factors, many of which are outside of Avivagen’s control. Except as required by law, Avivagen assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.
Information as to market size if various jurisdictions is sourced by Avivagen from third parties. While Avivagen believes such third party sources to be reliable, it has not independently verified such information and readers should not place undue weight on such information.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information:
Avivagen Inc.
Drew Basek
Director of Investor Relations
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Phone: 416-540-0733
E-mail: d.basek@avivagen.com
Kym Anthony
Chairman & Interim CEO
100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0R6
Head Office Phone: 613-949-8164
Website: www.avivagen.com
Copyright © 2018 Avivagen Inc. OxC-beta™ is a trademark of Avivagen Inc.
i Genesus Global Market Report: South-East Asia
ii Genesus Global Market Report: South-East Asia
iii 2017 Alltech Global Feed Survey, https://www.alltech.com/news/2018-alltech-global-feed-survey-estimates-world-feed-production-excess-1-billion-metric-tons
iv 2017 Alltech Global Feed Survey, https://www.alltech.com/news/2018-alltech-global-feed-survey-estimates-world-feed-production-excess-1-billion-metric-tons
v USDA foreign Agriculture Service, Gain Report#1801 page 7.
https://gain.fas.usda.gov/Recent GAIN Publications/Grain and Feed Annual_Manila_Philippines_3-9-2018.pdf