Animal health firm gets Malaysian antibiotic approval

04-Jun-2017 - Last updated on 05-Jun-2017 at 11:20 GMT

The antimicrobial will be used to treat egg-producing chickens in Malaysia

A subsidiary of London-based veterinary drug producer ECO Animal Health Group plans to become a “major force” after its poultry antibiotic was approved for sale in Malaysia.

ECO Animal Health Limited’s (ECO) veterinary drug Aivlosin, which contains the antibiotic tylvalosin, has secured sale approval from the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency of Malaysia.

Now, the firm is able to start selling the drug in Malaysia for the treatment of mycoplasma infections in chickens farmed for their eggs.

“This approval is another important step in the development of Aivlosin for commercial layers,” Peter Lawrence, chairman of ECO said in a statement on 5 June.

‘A major force’

“Malaysia is ranked as a global top 20 egg-producing country and home to four of the 10 largest egg producers in Asia. This latest approval demonstrates ECO’s continued progress to becoming a major force in the international market for veterinary pharmaceutical products.”

The approval is the second in south-east Asia for ECO, and follows last year’s decision by Europe to green-light the use of the antimicrobial Aivlosin.

The drug is used to treat a range of respiratory and gut diseases in poultry and pigs.

ECO’s parent company ECO Animal Health Group is a London-based firm that creates medication to control a host of livestock diseases and the drugs are used in over 50 countries.

The company posted a pre-tax profit rise of over 50% in its full-year financial results for 2016, posted in August last year.