Exploring Axitan's Journey from Product Launch to Global Expansion, as the Company Tackles Antibiotic Alternatives and Boosts Poultry Productivity
Brand Insights from Axitan
In 2023, Axitan introduced its groundbreaking endolysin technology at The Poultry Tech Summit. WATTPoultry caught up with the senior management team of Axitan to see how the business has progressed.
Q1. How have the last 14 months been?
Kane Miller, founder and Chief Innovation Officer:
“It has been a big year for Axitan in every aspect. Our first endolysin-based product, FORC3®, has gone into full commercial production. We’ve built out our senior management and customer focused sales teams with Al Zimmerman joining as CEO and Gonzalo Prat as VP Sales & Marketing - both based in the US. And we’ve continued to expand our R&D activities so that we have a strong pipeline of products that build on Axitan’s core endolysin technology. To that end, we have identified a number of pathogens that historically have been managed through antibiotics that we are excited to address.”
Q2. As you explained at the Tech Summit, endolysins target and cut the outer cell-wall of the target pathogen causing the cell to burst and safely disintegrate. Your first product, FORC3® targets Clostridium perfringens and has demonstrated 99.9% efficacy in in vitro trials on broilers. What specific challenges is FORC3® addressing for customers in real world settings?
Gonzalo Prat, VP of Sales & Marketing:
“Great question. In real-terms, the main challenge our customers are constantly facing is how to increase the amount of meat produced while reducing the cost of the inputs required to generate that yield – or in short, how to produce more with less. Since the withdrawal of Antibiotic Growth Promoters (AGP) this challenge has increased due to the inconsistent response of the new technologies available and the consequent lower performance when compared to AGP data. So ultimately it is a productivity lens that US customers are looking through at us, more so than disease mitigation, when evaluating FORC3® for inclusion into their NAE or One Health programs.
“And the key take-away is that irrespective of the production model, whether in challenge trials or in field settings of healthy flocks, we see FORC3® consistently generating improved meat yield, FCR, and liveability.”
Kane Miller:
“Two factors are contributing to what Gonzalo is highlighting. Firstly, Clostridium perfringens is pervasive in all flocks, irrespective of whether necrotic enteritis has surfaced at a clinical level. We believe that the early targeting and elimination of the CP pathogen is contributing to the overall health of the bird. This appears to be as true for healthy flocks as for those that are experiencing CP related challenges. Secondly, FORC3® also includes long- and mid-chain fatty acids, as well as microalgae, that provide a rich source of biomolecules containing lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, chlorophyll & carotenoids, along with vitamins & minerals. We believe the three core components of FORC3® are working synergistically to deliver these improved outcomes.”
Q3. What commercial traction are you having with FORC3®?
Al Zimmerman, CEO of Axitan:
“As you may have seen, last quarter we hit an important milestone for the business with our first shipments of FORC3® being delivered to US customers at commercial scale. That was a big step-up for us and we see a strong pipeline developing as we grow our presence in the domestic US poultry market. Separate to that, we have been receiving tremendous interest in FORC3® and our endolysin platform from major potential partners in Latin America, South Asia, as well as the US, and we very much look forward to updating the market in due course.”
Q4. Have you seen poultry industry interest in FORC3® beyond broilers in the US?
Gonzalo Prat:
“Very much so. While broilers are a primary focus, the US turkey community has reacted very positively and trials are already being conducted. We are also starting to see interest for layers. We believe both turkeys and layers have the potential to be important segments for us within the overall US poultry market - in addition to broilers.”
Kane Miller added:
“Regarding the application of FORC3® in turkeys, the initial studies have been very encouraging and we are set to conduct further large-scale studies with industry partners to further demonstrate the economic impact.”
Q5. What next for Axitan?
Alfred Zimmerman:
“As a business our focus is clear: helping to improve productivity and reduce the reliance on antibiotics for producers through our endolysin based feed additive products. We are now well established on that journey with the success of FORC3® and our product pipeline. We are excited for the year ahead! We very much look forward to kicking the new year off at IPPE with an expanded presence and meeting with folks there to talk about FORC3® and our endolysin platform.”
Axitan will be exhibiting at IPPE 2025, in Hall A stand A850. www.axitan.com