A safer way to save farmed fish

FISH farmers will be able to protect their livestock from disease in a safer and more sustainable way than through the usual antibiotics, with vaccine-like “biologics” – that is, biologically-derived medicines – created by Singapore biotechnology startup TeOra.

In June, TeOra’s vaccine development system won S$1 million in grant funding in The Liveability Challenge, an international competition presented by Temasek Foundation and organised by Eco-Business. The contest searches for and supports the commercialisation of sustainable solutions to urban challenges.

TeOra is developing an orally-delivered biological drug for Asian seabass, targeting a virus that causes fish scales to fall off. The vaccine-like biologics can be applied as a coat on fish feed, and thus integrated into existing farming operations.