Our Meat Science & Animal Biologics program is excited for the addition of this “Animal Biologics” focus to our program. We are defining biologics as molecules or tissues from livestock and poultry that can contribute to new medicines and therapies for animal and human health. MSABD will further determine their extractability, yield, and biological effectiveness – the first step on the path to commercialization.

This animal diagram depicts many of the known uses for porcine biologics. We look forward to exploring additional uses to add value to livestock and poultry in addition to the meat we consume.

These bottles were part of a display in the Meat Science & Muscle Biology Lab classroom for decades. We believe they date back to the 1950’s. We believe Bob Bray referenced this display to get students thinking about the different uses for these animal derivatives.

Biologics is an emerging science with much potential. In the early 2000s, UW Madison Animal Sciences scientist Mark Cook’s research led to the development of Cosajaba oil. A byproduct of industrial poultry processing derived from the uropygial glands of poultry, Cosajaba oil can be used to lower stress in aquaculture fish. The oil increases the metabolism (which in turn decreases the concentration) of cortisol – the stress hormone – by 50 percent. This is of great value as the aquaculture industry suffers more than $1.7 billion in fish stress related loses annually as of 2018. Further developments in biologics will be studied at MSABD.

“One day, could the value of the non-meat portion of the animal exceed the value of the meat?” – MSABD Advisory Committee