USDA to grant license for African Swine Fever vaccine

USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to grant animal health company Zoetis LLC an exclusive license to two patents related to the company’s development of a vaccine to combat African Swine Fever (ASF).  The move comes as ASF riddles China’s massive hog population and continues to move in Europe, threatening to hamper large pork exporting nations there, and as U.S. government, industry and health officials work to prevent its introduction in the United States. Currently there is no certified vaccine to treat for the viral disease.