Merck’s innovative poultry vaccine gains US approval, promises simplified hatchery immunisation

Merck Animal Health has received US approval for INNOVAX ND-IBD-ILT, a revolutionary recombinant poultry vaccine that offers protection against four diseases in a single dose, aiming to streamline vaccination and enhance flock health.

Merck Animal Health has won US Department of Agriculture approval for INNOVAX ND-IBD-ILT, a poultry vaccine the company says is the first recombinant product to protect against Newcastle disease, infectious bursal disease, infectious laryngotracheitis and Marek’s disease in a single hatchery dose.

The approval extends Merck’s INNOVAX line, which already includes products targeting combinations of Marek’s disease, infectious bursal disease and either Newcastle disease or infectious laryngotracheitis. The company says the new formulation is designed to simplify vaccination programmes, reduce bird handling and ease labour pressures at hatcheries and on farms.

According to Merck Animal Health, the vaccine uses dual glycoprotein inserts to strengthen protection against infectious laryngotracheitis while retaining broad disease coverage. It is intended to support immunity early in the production cycle and, the company argues, help maintain flock health and performance through to market.

The product is expected to be commercially available in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Merck has already positioned the INNOVAX range as a platform for hatchery-based disease prevention. In Europe, the company has said INNOVAX ND-IBD-ILT received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s veterinary medicines committee, signalling wider international interest in a single-dose approach to poultry immunisation.