Dr. Brett O'Brien, technical services veterinarian with Merck Animal Health, spoke with The Pig Site’s, Sarah Mikesell at 2023 World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, USA.

Launch of unique vaccine

“We're super excited to be launching our first of its kind vaccine, Circumvent CML,” said Dr. Brett O’Brien. “It is a three- in-one vaccine that controls for diseases Porcine Circovirus Type 2a (PCV-2a), Porcine Circovirus Type 2d (PCV-2d), Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Lawsonia intracellularis.”

The new vaccine is built on Merck’s foundation of tried-and-true proven antigens and adjuvant systems that have been available in Circumvent PCV-M G2 and their standalone product Porcilis Ileitis.

“Now, the extra convenience is in one bottle with a reduced volume. It is labeled as a single dose intramuscular (IM) administration for pigs three weeks of age or older,” said Dr. O’Brien. “We're excited - folks always clamor to do more with less, and we understand the value of fewer shots because ultimately it reduces the stress of that event altogether – less stress for the pigs, less work for the caretaker, less product handling errors, and less waste on the farm.”

Customers have been asking for a product that could put more products in the pig at one time, and Merck has delivered on the request.

“We're super excited to finally have this vaccine available that allows for fewer shots,” said Dr. O’Brien. “If you are in the barn and used to the process of vaccinations, especially in those younger pigs, the advantage of trying to administer multiple vaccines at one time is a huge benefit.”

Merck’s standalone vaccines that Circumvent CML replaces are each formulated as a single dose at 2 cc's each. However the new product brings it down to just a single 2 cc dose.

“The benefit of this three-in-one shot is really for those younger pigs that we vaccinate and it’s huge,” added Dr. O’Brien. “I'm passionate about welfare and having that reduced stress at vaccination is key.”

The new product offers added convenience for producers along with extra assurance that products get delivered correctly, giving producers and care givers peace of mind.

“We at Merck know and recognize labor constraints are real, and you've got to maximize and create efficiencies on the farm,” she added. “Having this all-in-one product is a big deal. Producers are still getting the same level of protection for those critical diseases and pathogens that they've had in the past with our line of products. We've completed numerous studies on this product, and it's a safe, efficacious product.”

Merck R&D commitment

“This product was tested extensively because it has three antigens,” said Dr. O’Brien. “The amount of legwork that was done in research and development to get this product licensed was considerable. We conducted 10 different licensing studies - both onset of immunity, duration of immunity and safety studies, but we didn't stop there. We kept going with additional studies in preparation for this launch.”

Knowing the real-world disease pressures for swine, Merck opted to conduct co-challenge models to demonstrate to the producer that they'll have protection in real-world situations.

“Testing of those real-world situations is huge for producers to give them peace of mind,” she said. “We recognize pigs at various phases have a lot of different health challenges coming at them, and we want to ensure that producers have peace of mind, assurance and protection on board. We demonstrate that time and time again and want to keep our bar high for what we provide our customers.”

“Again, we are super excited about our new three-in-one product,” she said. “If you want more product information, you can check out Drivenbyprevention.com or speak with your Merck sales representative.”