Terramar Environmental Research Ltd, North Saanich, BC

History In the early 1990s, researchers at Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia) undertook the challenge of developing a contraceptive vaccine for potential use on seals. Knowing from the outset that seals would not be accessible for more than a single inoculation, the Dalhousie team set their minds to creating a single-dose, long-lasting vaccine. They developed a unique means of delivering the PZP antigens to the immune system in liposomes, which are submicroscopic, multi-layered vesicles. This liposome technology is responsible for the extraordinary efficacy of SpayVac. The work that began at Dalhousie is being continued by ImmunoVaccine Technologies, Inc. (IVT). Unparalleled Performance Independent trials have shown that a single dose of SpayVac can contracept deer for at least 3 years. No treated deer became pregnant over 3 years in trials on Fallow Deer by TerraMar Environmental Research Ltd., or on White-tailed Deer by the USDA’s National Wildlife Research Center conducted at Penn State University. The long-lasting, single-dose efficacy contrasts sharply with the results of other PZP vaccines, which require frequent boosting. When other vaccines are used, previously treated animals have to be relocated before each breeding season and given a booster dose, usually with a dart. Repeated boosting exposes the animals to increased stress and greatly increases the cost and technical difficulty of implementing IC to control deer populations. SpayVac removes these impediments.