India's Ganganen Biotechnologies developed the drug and signed an agreement last week with Elanco Animal Health, Lilly's animal feed division. Janakiraman Ramachandran, chairman of Gangagen Biotechnologies, says they plan to convert the drug into a cattle feed supplement.
Ganganen spent $3 million developing the drug and Elanco is planning to spend an additional $5 million in cattle feed production.
The drug can help prevent the spread of the bacteria to humans via contaminated beef, which is known to cause 70,000 infections and a few dozen deaths each year in the U.S. alone.
Both companies plan to carry out a trial among 400 cattle in Canada next year and launch the drug there by mid-2007; they hope to sell it in the States soon after.
