The commercialisation of a louping ill (LI) vaccine, developed at Moredun, has been awarded £450k as part of a DEFRA-funded research project, following urgent calls from hill farmers experiencing severe livestock losses, predominantly in sheep. This highly important funding allows Moredun to complete phase 1 of its commercialisation process, and this phase has now commenced through a partner Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO), which is transferring the research vaccine technology into a commercial production system.
The DEFRA application was made in partnership with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project. The project, called “UpTick – The impact of environmental change on tick populations and livestock health in the uplands: a case study in Dartmoor”, reflects growing concerns about tick-borne disease. The involvement of UKHSA, a public health body, illustrates the importance of the zoonotic element to LI, as viral loads increase in upland hills and moors causing concerns that humans may become more at risk.
The Dartmoor Hill Farm Project emphasised the urgent and critical need for a LI vaccine to reduce the severe losses they were encountering in sheep mainly, but, following a trend in many upland areas of the UK, more recently in working dogs, cattle and horses. The decision was taken to include the vaccine development in the DEFRA application, resulting in the £450k award.
With further moorland and livestock industry donations, including from the National Sheep Association (NSA) Central and Regional Committees, Moredun has over £1M in donated and pledged funds, with a further £1.2M required to complete phase 2. This momentum in fundraising is continuing to secure the continuous flow of vaccine development through to phase 2, and thereby ensure the vaccine is available in the shortest possible timescale. Phase 3 is the final commercialisation phase, resulting in a fully tested and licensed vaccine on the shelves in veterinary practices ready for sale. This phase will be an investment phase involving the formation of a new company and invitations from individuals and industry to invest.
Professor Tom McNeilly, Scientific Director of the Moredun Research Institute and Chief Executive of the Moredun Foundation said:
“This DEFRA funding represents a crucial milestone in bringing our louping ill vaccine from the laboratory to the market. The urgency expressed by hill farmers facing devastating livestock losses, combined with growing public health concerns highlighted by UKHSA’s involvement, underscores why this work is so vital. Where there isn’t a clear commercial pathway through traditional industry routes, Moredun is demonstrating that a research institute can step in to bridge that gap.”
Notes
- Louping Ill (LI) is a tick-borne viral disease to which sheep and red grouse are particularly susceptible.
- The disease was previously well controlled in sheep by vaccination. This vaccine was developed at Moredun, and commercialised by MSD Animal Health, but withdrawn from market due to manufacturing difficulties in 2017.
- Since then, LI has increased in prevalence in endemic upland areas of the UK, and has also spread south and east to new areas with the spread of tick.
- Farms newly infected with LI may lose up to 50% of affected sheep and high losses are usually encountered when simultaneous infection with tick-borne fever (TBF) occurs.
- Reports of LI in cattle, dogs and horses are increasing. These species are considered less susceptible to LI and reflects the rising viral loading of disease in upland hills and moors. LI can also affect humans and is attracting interest from our colleagues in public health.
- Moredun have developed a new generation vaccine against LI, which in research trials, has been shown to be highly effective in protecting sheep against LI. This research vaccine has none of the difficulties in manufacture that the previous vaccine had.
- Unfortunately, as is now common with sheep vaccines, no commercial pharmaceutical company was interested in commercialising this vaccine due to business considerations.
- Moredun, realising the extreme importance of this vaccine to the UK hill and upland sheep industry, have initiated the commercialisation process in partnership with Kernfarm (Kernfarm is a breath of fresh air on the veterinary medicine scene), the National Sheep Association and the moorland industry.
- This process will take place in three phases of manufacture transfer, sheep trials and licensing with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Please contact Beth Wells on beth.wells@moredun.ac.uk for further information or images.
- Moredun, with partners, initiated a fundraising campaign in June 2025, with the Scottish Government pledging £100k in industry match funding. This was pivotal as a lever to donations from the sheep and moorland industries enabling us to draw down this funding in November.
