Swine flu is replacing COVID on pharmaceutical companies’ target list

Now that the frenetic activity surrounding the corona virus has cooled, a number of major pharmaceutical companies are turning their attention to dealing with the swine flu, specifically dealing with its effects on pigs. Surprised? Well, here are five compelling financial reasons:

1. Swine flu led to the costly deaths of millions of animals

Pork is the most popular meat worldwide and pork consumption is increasing. Huge losses of pig herds disrupt the world’s food supply. This means that there are more pigs around than ever before and the need for an effective vaccine is massive. Swine flu has been a big problem since H1N1 caused a pandemic fifteen years ago. That year the virus caused over 200,000 human deaths worldwide. 

Animal deaths continue with some years proving quite costly. Financial losses in a single year may total billions.

2. Vaccinations for animals – specifically pigs – is a big, growing business and badly needed

According to www.cdc.gov, “Just as there are influenza vaccines for people, there are specific swine influenza vaccines available for pigs.” While people are vulnerable to swine flu, pigs are more at risk. A large number of pharmaceutical companies have jumped on the issue and are developing impressive results.

3. The problem is worldwide

Americans are often shocked by the popularity of pork. Pork consumption constitutes 36% of global
meat intake. Pork beats out chicken and beef, actually totaling about double world beef consumption. As
countries get wealthier, meat consumption rises.

Doubters should take note that pigs knuckles do not rank up there with pork chops, ribs, bacon and ham. However, a search of Yelp, New York City shows eight restaurants that include them on their menus!

An effective vaccine could save billions of dollars. The slaughter of entire herds takes place because of fear that the disease will spread. This is a problem that hits American agriculture in the solar plexus.

The top three pig producing states are Iowa, Minnesota and North Carolina. Investors will note that this shows that pigs maintain positive standing in serious farming parts of the U.S. Iowa leads the nation in corn production and ranks second in soybeans. By contrast, New Jersey, no longer a true agricultural state, ranks fiftieth in hog production.

4. Breakthroughs in the works?

A large number of major pharmaceutical companies are involved in this attractive segment. Among the most notable is Merck MRK , which offers Sequivity IAV-S NA swine influenza vaccine. This product introduced in 2022 is strictly for pigs. According to Merck, “Sequivity has been shown to be effective for the vaccination of healthy swine, 3 days of age or older, against influenza strains H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2.” 

Pfizer PFE through its Animal Health division is also on the move, offering Improvac across the European Union, a major hog-producing region. The product is approved in 52 countries. Pfizer touts the product for upholding “standards of safety, taste and animal welfare.”

Eli Lilly and Company {symbol link=LLY] acquired Novartis Animal Health for about $5.4 billion all-cash. Eli
Lilly sees the move as building up its growing animal health business. Upon completion of the acquisition, Elanco, the Eli Lilly unit involved, will be the second-largest animal health company in global revenue. It boasts nearly 600 products with new ones under development and a whopping 3,000 employees.

Read more: Pharmaceutical M&A is reshaping the health-care industry

Part of the concern in this industry relates to managing the possible sources of swine illness as well as its transfer to people. African swine fever continues to be the top foreign animal disease threat to the U.S and it continues to spread worldwide. It still poses a devastating risk to U.S. pork exports and will no doubt be a target of the big pharma companies.

In the current state of things, common sense management practices are needed to halt the damage done by these animal illnesses. These include “biosecurity” measures that reduce disease transmission and involve better air filtration and feed management. Low pig density areas also help. Animals often pick up serious illnesses from dirty conditions inside barns.

Many investors know that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has transformed building construction and repair. Many buildings around New York City that are either being repaired or built are surrounded by scaffolds. Workers wear hard hats and sometimes harnesses. Personal protective equipment is now more widely used and makes up a significant industry.

In fact, these measures also work in managing hog herds. Surgical face masks, dust masks, goggles, disposable face shields, reusable face shields, PAPRs, N95 respirators are needed to stem the spread of illnesses among hogs. 3M MMM is among the world’s largest PPE makers, followed by Honeywell HON and Dupont DD . PPE is a large – about $7 billion – and growing industry.

5. Pigs are amazingly close to human beings

Another shock to investors is that pigs have many similarities with human beings and are highly
prized in medical testing. According to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, “The anatomical structure and function of
the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal tract, and the pancreas of the pig are very similar to
humans.”

Consider these signs of flu in pigs: high fever, nasal discharge, lethargy, sneezing, going off
feed, breathing difficulties, coughing. Sound familiar? They should; these are about the same as human
flu symptoms!