Huvepharma produces Monimax®, a proven coccidiosis control solution sold in many regions around the world, which has now gained EU approval. We spoke to Ben Dehaeck, Huvepharma's Global Product Manager for Anticoccidials, to learn more about this product and its global rollout.
We first wanted to understand the scale of the coccidiosis problem around the globe and why, now more than ever, this disease is such an important problem.
"Efficient coccidiosis control is a challenge for every poultry producer, independent of the continent or region where they are raising the bird," Mr. Dehaeck explained. "An estimate of the global cost of coccidiosis is 3 billion dollars per year but recent calculations indicate that this might be an underestimation of the actual cost."
"Adequate control of coccidiosis is imperative for poultry farmers, because suboptimal control leads to decreased performance, while potentially driving an increased need for antimicrobials for the treatment of intestinal problems for which coccidiosis is a trigger, such as dysbacteriosis and necrotic enteritis."
"It was the enormity of this global challenge for farmers that led Huvepharma to develop Monimax®, a proven coccidiosis control solution. Monimax® is currently available outside of the EU in countries that do not require a free sales certificate. Now with the product registered in the EU, it can be sold across Europe and in countries that require this certificate, including important global markets like Thailand and Turkey.
Mr. Dehaeck told us: "Providing high-quality products for coccidiosis control has always been a cornerstone of the Huvepharma business; it is in our DNA. The project of introducing Monimax® to the European market started many years ago and was initiated to provide the EU poultry industry with a reliable and flexible combination product." While there have been other combination products before, Mr. Dehaeck said that after reviewing extensive data, the company found a combination of monensin and nicarbazin that provided an "ideal combination".
"Nicarbazin is a strong synthetic product used for the control of coccidiosis, but in high concentrations it makes the birds more vulnerable to (heat) stress conditions," he said. "Monensin is a strong ionophore that can be used in both chickens and turkeys and has a well-documented positive effect on litter quality."
Huvepharma have developed a new solution that is different to other coccidiosis control products available. They have entered this competitive market with a combination product, which is only the second one registered for use in Europe and consists of a unique combination of monensin and nicarbazin.
"Laboratory and field trials demonstrated that this combination results in effective coccidiosis control and performance," Mr. Dehaeck said. "As a result of the better coccidiosis control, the litter quality also improves. In turn, this has a beneficial impact on foot pad lesions, which are a key indicator for animal welfare."
"Monimax® is also the first combination product registered for use in turkeys and chickens reared for laying," Mr. Dehaeck told us. "Its efficacy makes it an ideal solution for feed mills producing feed for broilers and turkeys. As for our other anticoccidials, Monimax® is a microgranulated product combining both active components and the carrier into one granule. This ensures the correct dosing of the product and gives it excellent flowability characteristics."
We wanted to understand more about this blend and what makes it successful in controlling coccidiosis. This led Mr. Dehaeck to describe how the product works.
"Monimax® is a combination of two anticoccidials: nicarbazin and monensin and they have different modes of action," he explained. "Monensin is an ionophore and is poorly absorbed by the epithelial cells. It will interact with the parasite when it is extracellular, mainly before they penetrate the epithelial cells, meaning that they affect the parasite early in their life cycle. Nicarbazin is absorbed well by the epithelial cells and interacts with the parasite intracellularly. Nicarbazin inhibits the parasite later during its life cycle and affects the first and second stage schizonts."
This synergy between monensin and nicarbazin in chickens was demonstrated in vivo and published in Avian Pathology. Mr. Dehaeck told us, "the combination allows them to be used in lower concentrations, and because high doses of nicarbazin can cause stress, the blend of the two in Monimax® lowers the risk of harm to birds."
Huvepharma started selling Monimax® in 2012 outside of the EU as part of its global rollout, which allowed Huvepharma to use the product ahead of the European launch.
"This phased rollout has made it possible to gain extensive field experience before the launch of the product in Europe. Monimax® is currently intensively used in Central America, Asia and Russia, and is performing very well in all kinds of circumstances (hot or cold, humid or dry climates). The general feedback from these markets is that Monimax® consistently improves performance regardless of the circumstances, making it perfect for countries across Europe."
"As with our other products, Monimax® is produced in our EU facilities in Bulgaria. In order to support the increase of sales, the company invested in the expansion of our production facilities in the country. This important capacity increase will allow us to support growing customer needs."
The European launch, of course, coincided with the global COVID-19 pandemic and like almost every enterprise in the world, there were associated challenges.
"In these final stages of registering this product, it is true that the pandemic had a negative impact on the speed of the process," he shared. "Having delays in these final stages was very frustrating, but we are happy that we made it in the end and now have been able to launch the product after many years of research and hard work."
When it comes to research into this area, the work is not over for Huvepharma, which is continuously focused on new solutions for coccidiosis management.
"Coccidiosis control is key for Huvepharma and we continue to invest in new products," Mr. Dehaeck explained. "Coccidiosis is a very important profit killer for producers both today and in the future, and we believe the registration of new products like Monimax® will add performance to poultry businesses around the world."
This article originally appeared on Feedinfo
