Mazen Animal Health has developed he first Valley fever sub-unit vaccine for companion animals. It reduces the burden of Coccidioides, the fungus that can cause valley fever. The fungal infection leads to disease in humans, cats, dogs, llamas and alpacas and is costly to treat. In fact, it is estimated that Valley fever costs Arizona dog owners $60 million per year.
Source: AgriMarketing, October 12, 2018. Link. Today, there is no vaccine for Valley fever, in part because the antigen is poorly expressed in microbial systems leading to a high cost of production. Mazen’s technology partner, Applied Biotechnology Institute (ABI) has produced a sub-unit vaccine candidate in maize grain at levels that are a hundred-fold higher than what is possible with traditional fermentation.