Calgary scientists race to discover livestock dewormer before resistance strikes

University of Calgary researchers are leveraging AI and genomics to find a new cattle dewormer, aiming to outpace parasite resistance and safeguard the $2 billion Canadian livestock industry.

University of Calgary scientists James Wasmuth and Constance Finney are trying to do something that has become increasingly urgent for cattle producers: find a successor to ivermectin before resistance renders one of livestock medicine’s most relied-upon dewormers obsolete.

The challenge is formidable. According to the University of Calgary team, the search begins with roughly four billion known chemical compounds, which are first filtered against the most vulnerable parts of roundworm biology. AI tools such as protein-structure modelling are then used to narrow the field to a few hundred candidates, before laboratory testing cuts that again to a handful of promising molecules.

Parasite control matters because the losses are not always visible. The researchers say roundworms can quietly sap weight gain, damage digestive tissues and, in some cases, impair breathing. In Canada, the wider livestock bill is put at about $2 billion a year in lost production.

The project brings together veterinary medicine, chemistry and genomics, backed by an NSERC Alliance grant and industry partners including Alberta Beef Producers and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. Albert Beef Producers says the work aims to take at least two compounds to proof-of-concept stage.

Wasmuth says the target is a practical product that fits grazing systems, not one requiring repeated summer treatments. The team expects to move towards cattle trials within five years.