The Nation's Largest Manufacturer of Autogenous Biologics

Autogenous vaccines have been used for many years to help address livestock diseases. Newport Laboratories has applied 21st century technology to the traditional autogenous approach to produce high quality biologics for the livestock industry. These products are formulated and produced to pinpoint the specific disease problems in your livestock.

Q. What is an autogenous vaccine?

A. Autogenous vaccines have found their niche as a complement to "off-the-shelf" products. By definition, autogenous vaccines and bacterins are made-to-order from the virus or bacteria causing disease in a livestock operation. The resulting product is specific to the pathogenic (disease-causing) strain(s) in that herd or feedlot.

Q. What is the benefit of an autogenous vaccine?

A. In some cases, commercially available "one-size-fits-all" combination vaccines may not contain the desired strain, or may contain others not desired in the individual herd situation. Newport's autogenous vaccines offer the veterinarian and producer the ability to formulate a combination product customized for the producer that is not available commercially.

Q. How long does it take to produce an autogenous vaccine or bacterin?

A. The time from isolate selection until release and shipment includes the production time and the mandatory quality control (QC) testing time. The time for production varies, depending on the specific organism's growth rate. In general, the time required is 4-6 weeks for bacterins and 8-10 weeks for viral vaccines.

Q. How long is the isolate "good", and what is the product shelf-life?

A. According to USDA regulations, each isolate has a finite lifetime, depending on when it was initially isolated or when it was first used to make an autogenous biologic. The isolate will "expire" 15 months from the time of isolation or 12 months after it was first used to make a product, whichever is less. A request can be submitted to "extend" the dating of an isolate. If approved, the isolate extension will provide a total of two (2) years of use. An isolate can be extended only once.

Shelf-life of the product is 18 months from date of manufacture.

Q. Can an autogenous vaccine or bacterin only be used in the herd in which the original isolates were found?

A. Typically, an autogenous vaccine or bacterin is produced for, and intended for use in, the herd from which the original isolates were cultured. However, the USDA allows the use of the product in other herds (adjacent or non-adjacent to the herd), upon formal request and approval. Use in other herds requires justification based on the epidemiology of the disease and the risk of disease to the other herd(s). The request for use in non-adjacent herds requires a list of those specific herds in which the product will be used. The product may not be used in herds for which permission has not been granted. Newport Laboratories will assist veterinarians in requesting approval for adjacent and non-adjacent use of our products.