The Vaccine Group’s bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) vaccine programme has been recognised in the 2025 Animal Research Breakthroughs Review published by Understanding Animal Research, highlighting the progress of the BoHV-4-vectored vaccine approach designed to protect very young calves, including in the presence of maternal antibodies.
BRSV remains one of the leading infectious contributors to bovine respiratory disease worldwide, driving significant production losses, animal welfare concerns, and antibiotic use. BRSV affects over 1.9 million calves annually in the UK alone, resulting in £54 million in losses. The Vaccine Group’s herpesvirus-vectored platform is being developed to address key limitations of conventional vaccine approaches by enabling early-life protection, reduction of clinical disease, and decreased virus shedding following challenge.
This programme has been supported by funding from Innovate UK, enabling the continued advancement and evaluation of next-generation vectored vaccine strategies designed to improve respiratory disease control while supporting responsible antibiotic stewardship across the cattle sector.
The recognition reflects ongoing collaborative work with partners at the Animal and Plant Health Agency and The Pirbright Institute and forms part of The Vaccine Group’s broader pipeline of livestock vaccines aimed at addressing priority infectious diseases through scalable viral-vector delivery platforms.