Norvartis to launch new wormer in UK

A NEW treatment for a major health problem which costs UK sheep farmers about £84 million a year hits the market next week.

It was announced yesterday in Edinburgh that, after ten years of research, the Swiss-based Norvartis Animal Health is launching a new class of wormer that kills roundworms, including those resistant to existing treatments.

It is the first new wormer of its type to come on the market for 25 years and will be welcomed by sheep farmers, who are becoming increasingly concerned about the growing resistance of roundworms to the three wormers currently available on the market.

The impaired performance of lambs infected with the larvae from roundworms costs farmers an estimated 9.60 a head as a result of weight loss. Farmers may be unaware of the problem because lambs are affected sub-clinically before the disease becomes apparent, but research has indicated that 80-90 per cent of flocks in Scotland are experiencing resistance to existing drug treatments.

The new treatment, Zolvix, has been launched in New Zealand. Trial work was conducted at 11 European centres, including the Moredun Institute in Edinburgh.

The new treatment takes the form of a drench, which is administered orally.