U of G Invention Saving Cows, Pigs and Poultry from Deadly Diseases

Her award-winning research is high-immune response (HIR™) technology, a test to find animals that can pass down their naturally strong immune response genetics. 

The “Eureka!” came during her undergraduate degree. As she studied horses with an inherited disorder known as combined immunodeficiency disease, she learned that genetic defects in the immune system can cause life-threatening illness and get passed down over generations.

But if defects in immune genetics can be detrimental, she thought, then perhaps the inverse is true: good immune genetics can lead to powerful disease resistance, which can, in turn, be inherited. 

“If we can inherit disorders, we can inherit better order,” explains Mallard, a pathobiology professor in the Ontario Veterinary College. 

Decades later, this insight has been honed into a powerful solution for farmers and breeding companies worldwide. Today, special antigen test kits are used to stimulate the target animal’s immune system. Those that react the best are labeled high-immune responders. Farmers then breed these animals to improve the entire herd over generations. 

The technology, licensed to Semex in Guelph, has led to the creation of Immunity+® semen. And Immunity+ offspring are nothing short of incredible:

• They are half as likely to develop infectious diseases 
• They need less medicine and antibiotics
• They grow faster and live longer, saving farmers hundreds of dollars per animal per year
• They produce higher-quality colostrum, full of protective antibodies
• They respond better to vaccines

With millions generated in revenue, HIR technology remains one of the most profitable patents to ever come out of the University of Guelph.