August 15, 2022 08:00 AM Greenwich Mean Time

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MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay – Agrobal, a Uruguayan company focused on solving animal production problems by incorporating global technological trends in animal nutrition and health, and Kinzbio, a company based in Uruguay and the US that uses proprietary technology to develop bacteriophage cocktails to eliminate harmful bacteria from the livestock industry, today received additional non-dilutive funds from the Agencia Nacional de Investigación e Innovación de Uruguay (ANII) to conduct the first proof-of-concept field trial to evaluate the efficacy of a bacteriophage formula against Escherichia coli and Salmonella in poultry farms in Uruguay. This formula was developed by Kinzbio in 2021, and this expanded funding builds on the initial support received from ANII in October 2021 for the development of bacteriophage-based solutions for the livestock industry.

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The bacteriophage cocktail developed by Kinzbio has the ability to kill a broad range of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and Salmonella strains. With the additional support received, the in vivo efficacy of this cocktail will be tested in poultry, aiming to reduce the load of these pathogenic bacteria in the chicken gut, hence improving animal health and nutrition and minimizing risks of zoonotic infections.

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“We developed this bacteriophage cocktail after a thorough microbiological and genomic characterization of main pathogens circulating in poultry farms, which led us to identify APEC as the leading cause of chicken gastroenteritis over the well-known Salmonella”, said Josefina Puig, CSO and co-founder of Kinzbio. “We believe this novel and comprehensive therapeutic strategy, among others that Kinzbio has in the pipeline, can contribute to enhance poultry industry standards in Uruguay and the Latin American region to produce healthier and more sustainable food”.

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“The poultry sector is the fastest growing agricultural sub-sector, especially in developing countries. This constitutes a tremendous challenge to ensure high standards of animal health and nutrition. Here, the main challenges are pathogenic bacteria that are rapidly acquiring resistance to antibiotics”, said Diego Hernández, DVM, co-founder and director of Agrobal. Through this strategic alliance, and thanks to the ANII support, Kinzbio and Agrobal aim to deliver the first generation of bacteriophage products for the poultry industry in Uruguay by next year.

 

About Agrobal

 

Agrobal is a company dedicated to optimize animal production. For more than 10 years it has been dedicated to advising and incorporating technologies in animal production chains with a special focus on health and nutrition. Their mission is to provide natural immunomodulators and promoters of intestinal health, and the incorporation of alternative technologies to antibiotics for the control of pathogens. Agrobal is based in Uruguay and commercializes health-promoting products and services in Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. 

 

About Kinzbio

 

Kinzbio is a biotech company located in Montevideo, UY, that leverages microbiology, genomic-based technologies and proprietary software to develop bacteriophage cocktails that tackle main bacterial pathogens for humans and animals, including MDR strains. Their mission is to prevent, treat and reduce bacterial infections by developing disruptive, simple and unique bacteriophage technologies.