BETHESDA, Md. & GAITHERSBURG, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC, a One Health company developing vaccines and diagnostic tools for global public health and zoonosis concerns, announced today that Jerry Torrison, DVM, PhD, has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Animal Health. Dr. Torrison brings over 30 years of experience as a veterinarian and diagnostician, and will lead the expansion of Longhorn’s animal health business in the U.S. and global One Health arenas.
“Dr. Torrison’s expertise has focused on diagnostic approaches and disease surveillance, with a specialty in viral diseases of pigs. This makes him an excellent match to lead the agriculture side of Longhorn as we expand our diagnostic, testing, and vaccine capabilities,” said Longhorn CEO Gerald W. Fischer, MD. “Our One Health approach to public health issues means providing governments, reference and other laboratories, healthcare institutions and industry leaders tools they need to prevent the next outbreak, which isn’t limited to human pathogens like what we’ve seen with COVID-19; it also includes animal pathogens. We look forward to having Dr. Torrison lead the expansion of our diagnostics tools to drive better surveillance and diagnosis of disease in animals and our expansion into animal vaccines.”
In his role, Dr. Torrison will interface with government officials, academics and industry leaders to strengthen and expand the role PrimeStore® Molecular Transport Medium (MTM) and the company’s other diagnostic tools play in providing safer, faster, and more accurate surveillance and diagnosis of high consequence animal diseases such as African swine fever and avian influenza. He will work with top reference laboratories and laboratory networks around the world to expand their capacity to respond to outbreaks such as the current high-pathogenic avian influenza outbreak.
Additionally, Dr. Torrison will support the vaccine group at Longhorn. The company’s universal influenza vaccine candidate, LHNVD-105, will start Phase I human trials in early 2023 and has the potential to play an important role in preventing outbreaks in pigs, poultry, and possibly other animals. In doing so, LHNVD-105 could have a significant impact on animal health and prevent the spread of the virus from animals to humans, a leading cause of pandemic strains.
Dr. Torrison is currently a Professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and leads the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory where his recent research has focused primarily on diagnostic approaches, disease surveillance and control methods for viral diseases of pigs. He has served on multiple regional and national animal health and agriculture boards as well as industry advisory panels. He has also worked in private practice and industry, including extensive international veterinary consulting.
For more information about Longhorn, visit www.LHNVD.com.
About Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC
Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics LLC is a One Health company based in Maryland that is developing vaccines and diagnostic tools for worldwide public health concerns and to prevent future pandemics. Since its inception in 2006, Longhorn has focused on developing vaccines and diagnostic tools that can impact a pandemic on a global scale and at all socio-economic levels. Since pandemics flow between humans and animals, Longhorn caters to both in order to surveil, diagnose, prevent and treat the next infectious disease.
Longhorn’s core product, PrimeStore® Molecular Transport Medium (MTM), is a patented, FDA cleared, state-of-the-art ambient temperature molecular diagnostic collection and transport device that can help governments, global health organizations, and drug manufacturers improve the diagnosis and treatment of highly infectious diseases such as Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). Unlike standard devices for collecting and transporting virus samples, PrimeStore® MTM is the first molecular transport device that can safely deactivate pathogens and stabilize RNA and DNA, allowing enhanced point of care and ambient temperature transport for laboratory based molecular testing and characterization.
