Zoetis has awarded research grants to Suidae Health and Production and to Iowa State University to discover solutions that can help improve control of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) in breeding and farrowing herds.

“We were interested in proposals that help discover novel approaches for optimizing the immune response of sows and gilts to help control PEDv,” said Steve Sornsen, DVM, MS, senior director, Veterinary Business Solutions, Zoetis. “We’re pleased to collaborate with well-experienced veterinarians representing academic and production interests. The outcome of these projects should provide insights into new PEDv control methods that can be incorporated into current production systems for the industry.”

The two proposals were selected by a cross-functional group of Zoetis colleagues among a group of eight finalists. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2015.

Suidae Health and Production, a swine veterinary practice with three locations across Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, will use its grant in the amount of $98,000 to study the efficacy of vaccination in boosting the immune response to PEDv in both naïve sows and previously exposed sows. Results will be compared to naïve sows that receive a placebo.

The $59,000 grant awarded to Iowa State University extends the partnership between school researchers and Zoetis on multiple projects related to PEDv management.

University researchers will measure the effectiveness of the conditionally licensed PED vaccine* from Zoetis in helping to reduce PEDv incidence on chronically affected breeding farms by studying the effect of the killed vaccine on immunological parameters in terms of both sow and colostral immunity.