Poultry farming has remained one of the major income sources of Nepalese farmers since decades. Backyard poultry farming is practiced by the majority of the marginalized rural households all over Nepal. These households rely on low-cost backyard poultry rearing to supplement and enhance their livelihoods. Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), causing Newcastle Disease in poultry (ND), is a major hurdle to increasing poultry production.

Biovac Nepal is a vaccine research, development and manufacturing company based in Nepal. It is the only domestic producer of the I-2 strain of Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) vaccine. Most commercially available poultry vaccines in the market are imported and are sensitive to heat. Such vaccines can easily be destroyed if the cold chain is not maintained. I-2 NDV vaccines, produced by Biovac Nepal have an edge over other vaccines due to its thermostability and easy applicability, providing good protection against the lethal virus.

One To Watch invested in Biovac Nepal in 2018 to support them in their mission to develop cold chain free NDV vaccines and increase its access to rural communities of Nepal. The investment from One To Watch facilitated Biovac in establishing a state-of-the-art facility in Nala, Banepa, which is arguably the first of its kind in Nepal.

With over three years of perseverance, Biovac is now able to produce and distribute the I-2 NDV vaccines in the local market. In addition to producing NDV vaccines, Biovac also provides veterinary diagnostic services. Biovac have recently signed an exclusive commercial partnership with Kantipur Vet Distributors, which is the largest Veterinary Medicine Distributor of Nepal. The first purchase order is of 1900 doses of these vaccines, and includes diagnostic services such as molecular tests, serological/titration tests, and farm disease screening programs. This partnership shall help Biovac to expand its market reach all over Nepal, and jointly carry out marketing and sales activities on a larger scale!