Fitter fish: Irish company uses plant extracts to improve disease resistance in aquatic life

In a truly progressive business, the process of innovation never stops and its leaders are always open to new ways of adding to or improving what’s already there.
John Cullen and Patrick Ward are the driving force behind animal nutrition company Auranta, and a decade on from its foundation the company is launching AuraAqua, a ground-breaking fish feed additive that, says Cullen, “will revolutionise the gut health of fish worldwide” thereby improving disease resistance and helping to stem what can often be significant losses for producers of shrimp, salmon and other fish species.
“We are a biotech company that develops nutritional products to improve the wellbeing of animals and help them reach their full genetic potential often in challenging conditions,” says Cullen, whose company also makes products for poultry, pigs and pet animals.
“Our focus is natural plant extracts and specifically on a unique combination of polyphenol compounds, which we combine in a particular ratio to improve gut health. This helps to bolster the animal’s microbiome and improves its ability to fight disease.
“By improving gut health nutritionally, our products play a preventive role in helping animals cope with the parasites and pathogens that can attack them and make them sick and affect their growth and development.”
Because Auranta’s products are nutritional, not medicines, they can be added to animal feed at the outset, whereas conventional treatments are not typically given until the outbreak of a disease. By the time a problem is visible, and a treatment regime initiated, a lot of damage may have already been done, says Cullen.
[ Auranta: Boosting the animal immune systemOpens in new window ]
“The world is currently experiencing a ‘blue revolution’, with global aquaculture production of more than 125 million tonnes a year, and growth of 50 per cent or more expected by 2030,” adds Cullen, whose company recently participated in the Bord Iascaigh Mhara Innovation Studio mentoring programme for young aquatech companies.
“The global aquaculture feed market is worth approximately €70 billion and the focus in this burgeoning sector is very much on sustainability and disease control which is where our products sit. So, this rapidly growing market presents a significant growth opportunity for our business.
“We currently employ 10 people (mostly scientists) and expect this number to double over the next two years on the back of the new product development.”
Cullen is an engineer by background with a 30-year track record in industry. Ward is a microbiologist. They set the company up in 2013, with the full commercial launch coming five years later. The company’s products, which are made in Ireland and come in liquid and powder form, are sold in 20 countries, and typical end users include animal feed producers, large farmers and food integrators.
“Our first serious market outside Ireland was in southeast Asia, and we have developed there alongside our products,” says Cullen. “We have recently started selling our aquaculture products in India and also in South America, in Ecuador and Chile. We hope to launch in Indonesia and China before the end of the year.”
In round figures, Cullen estimates the cost of developing the product range at about €3 million. Ongoing R&D costs are on top of this, as Cullen says having rigorous scientific evidence to back the products is essential if the big players in the animal feed market are going to give a small company a second glance.
“We’ve published 18 peer-reviewed papers, which is significant for a small organisation, but when you get a hearing from a potential customer, you really have to be able to show them that you’ve done the leg work, that there is a proven benefit in what you’re offering and that it’s in their interest to go to trials with the products,” says Cullen.
“If you can’t walk the walk as well as talk the talk when you go in there, you won’t get past first base.