Calgary company steps up to help combat screwworm in U.S.
Solvet receives emergency approval to sell equine ivermectin product
Calgary-based company Solvet can now sell its equine ivermectin product in the United States to help combat screwworm.
asserted
Solvet → step → screwworm
In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Solvet emergency use authorization for its ivermectin liquid for horses.
asserted
Administration → grant → horses
“It's an aqueous-based solution, not a paste, so it's a bit unique; it's a bit more concentrated and it's a lot easier to administer, ” said Lionel Gibbs, CEO of Solvet.
asserted
Gibbs → base → Solvet
The business was founded in 2009 by two former University of Calgary professors, and has since grown into one of Canada's largest veterinary pharmaceutical companies.
asserted
business → found → companies
Ivermectin, the now infamous anti-parasitic drug, is commonly used to combat a broad range of parasites, including screwworm, which is actually a species of fly native to parts of North America.
asserted
which → use → America
Female screwworm flies lay eggs on open wounds of mammals including horses, cattle and sometimes humans.
asserted
flies → lay → horses
The larvae hatch and bore into the host, feeding on tissue, giving the fly its name and also causing severe pain, secondary infections and possibly death.
uncertain
larvae → hatch → pain
Screwworm regularly cost ranchers in the United States and Mexico millions of dollars in annual losses until it was successfully eradicated from North America using what is called sterile insect technique.
asserted
what → cost → America
The tactic takes advantage of the fact that screwworm females mate only once in their lifetime and store the sperm to fertilize their eggs.
asserted
females → take → eggs
Beginning in the 1960s, fly factories were built to raise and sterilize male flies en masse.
asserted
factories → begin → flies
Billions of these were released into the environment, and by mating with females eliminated subsequent generations of flies.
asserted
Billions → release → flies
By 2006 screwworms couldn’t be found north of the Panama Canal.
asserted
screwworms → find → Canal
Screwworm returns
In 2024 the fly was reported in Central America, then Mexico, and has moved north, triggering alarms across the southern United States.
asserted
fly → return → States
In June 2026 the discovery of screwworm larvae on a calf in Texas prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to halt imports of animals from the state.
asserted
discovery → prompt → state
In an email to CBC News, the agency said, “Animals that originate from, or were present in, the State of Texas within 21 days prior to entering Canada are not permitted entry.”
asserted
that → say → entry
Production of sterile males has restarted in the U.S., but it will take time to produce numbers capable of eradicating the fly again.
asserted
it → restart → fly
In the meantime, authorities like the FDA put out a call for help.
asserted
authorities → put → help
“The FDA recognized that screwworm was a real risk, and they wanted to protect their food supply, their producers and everything.
asserted
they → recognize → supply
So they put out a call to pharmaceutical companies,” said Gibbs.
asserted
Gibbs → put → companies
After a rigorous process assessing Solvet’s facilities, manufacturing procedures and data on their ivermectin liquid, an emergency authorization was granted.
asserted
authorization → assess → liquid
“It's not our current label in Canada; it's one that says specifically for screwworm,” said Gibbs, meaning that while the product is labelled for broader uses against multiple parasites in Canada, in the United States it can only be sold and used for this specific labelled purpose.
asserted
it → say → purpose
Emergency use authorizations are employed as a way to quickly approve treatments by lowering the bar on the safety and efficacy data required while also limiting the scope of use to specific situations.
asserted
authorizations → employ → situations
According to an FDA bulletin, the liquid ivermectin is allowed for the short-term prevention of screwworm in horses only.
uncertain
ivermectin → accord → horses
“The product is authorized for use when administered within 24 hours of birth or at the time of initial wound care.
asserted
product → authorize → care
Will it work?
asserted
it → work → ?
John Gilleard, a veterinarian and parasitologist at the University of Calgary studying drug resistance in parasites, says the authorization makes sense given the potential risk to animals in states like Texas where screwworm is present.
asserted
screwworm → study → Texas
“They really do cause severe tissue damage, which, if it's not caught early or noticed, can be a very significant welfare issue,” said Gilleard.
asserted
Gilleard → cause → damage
The idea is that giving horses with open wounds a dose of ivermectin could kill any larvae before they grow and harm the animal, Gilleard says.
uncertain
Gilleard → give → animal
But, he added, “this isn't so much about preventing transmission of and dealing with controlling the outbreak.
asserted
this → add → outbreak
It's more about protecting animals, which are at risk during an outbreak in terms of welfare and health.
asserted
which → protect → welfare
"
The challenge, he says, will be for individual veterinarians to assess that risk and not overuse it.
asserted
veterinarians → say → it
“That's not good, obviously, for selection of resistance in other parasites or in terms of the environmental impacts of using these products intensively,” said Gilleard.
asserted
Gilleard → use → products
There are no current cases of screwworm in Canada and the risk is low.
asserted
risk → be → Canada
“Canada’s climate is generally not suitable for the long-term establishment of these flies, particularly during the winter months," the CFIA said in an email to CBC News.
asserted
CFIA → say → News
“The CFIA continues to monitor the situation closely and work with U.S. animal health authorities to assess developments and adjust measures as needed.
asserted
CFIA → continue → measures
An opportunity for Alberta
Gibbs says the company's primary focus is on animal well-being and welfare, but this situation also represents a great opportunity for Solvet and also the province as it moves to expand internationally, specifically in the United States.
“When they're scrambling and they need something and here’s this Alberta company that steps in, it just opens the door for a lot of other things,” said Gibbs, such as their pending application for a broader label use of liquid ivermectin for horses.
“It could bring a lot of dollars into Alberta, into the economy and also fund additional Alberta research,” said Gibbs.
uncertain
Gibbs → say → research
The Aporia
