Egg-based antibody demonstrated significant improvements in poultry livability and feed efficiency across commercial broiler, turkey and layer operations, according to field trial results presented at the 2025 Poultry Tech Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.
The egg yolk technology, fed at just half to one pound per ton, works by neutralizing excess amounts of the antibody, interleukin-10 (IL-10).
"IL-10 has a very potent immunosuppressive effect, and it's essential for regulating our immune system responses," said Troy Lohrmann, founder and president of Sustainable Life Sciences Consulting. "However, the properties of IL-10 can also be exploited by certain pathogens such as Salmonella, coccidia, Clostridia and helminths to facilitate their own survival."
These pathogens secrete factors that trigger IL-10 production, essentially telling the immune system to stand down. By binding this excess IL-10, egg cosabody allows white blood cells to function normally and neutralize infections without directly affecting the pathogens themselves — meaning no antimicrobial resistance concerns.
"The end result is the birds are more capable of naturally handling the infections,” Lohrmann explained.
Mirroring human pharmaceutical trends
Five to seven of the top 10 human pharmaceutical drugs over the past decade have been antibody-based technologies, used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases and infectious diseases. The approach offers high specificity, reduced side effects and versatility — qualities now being applied to animal agriculture. Lohrmann noted.
The technology addresses growing challenges in poultry production following the 2015 Veterinary Feed Directive that restricted antibiotic growth promoters. U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows a linear upward trend in U.S. broiler mortality from April 2017 through September 2024, highlighting the need for alternative solutions to support immune function and livability.
"Because of this, we're starting to see not only primary infections but secondary infections, and this pushes more pressure on sustainability because of less livability in our livestock," Lohrmann said.
Field trial results show consistent benefits
In a large integrator trial with 20-week-old tom turkeys across 91 barns, birds fed the egg antibody showed five percentage points improvement in livability and 13 points of improvement in adjusted feed conversion compared to controls. This held true even when flocks were affected by avian metapneumovirus, with treatment effects remaining statistically significant regardless of disease status.
Gene expression analysis from turkey tissue samples revealed that the egg antibody-fed birds had lower upregulation of IL-10 and regulatory immune cell markers CD4, CD40 and CD8 compared to controls, supporting the mechanism of action.
In controlled challenge studies where birds were inoculated with coccidia and Clostridium perfringens, chicks receiving coccidiosis vaccine at hatch showed seven-fold elevated levels of IL-10 compared to vaccinated chicks also fed the egg antibody in the diet, demonstrating the product's impact on immune regulation.
