Press release

Kaiseraugst, CH, 13 Jun 2019 09:00 CEST

• Launched at the 22nd European Symposium in Poultry Nutrition (ESPN 2019), Balancius™ is now available in the EU.
• This launch represents a new milestone in the ongoing global rollout of this breakthrough innovation in animal nutrition.
• Balancius™ is the first and only feed ingredient that breaks down peptidoglycans (PGNs) in bacterial cell debris, thus releasing nutrients and unlocking a hidden potential in gastrointestinal functionality.
• Scientific data* demonstrates that the addition of Balancius™ to the diet of broiler chickens:
  • significantly improves nutrient digestibility and absorption capacity,
  • consistently improves feed conversion ratio by 4–6 points (3%), thus contributing to sustainable poultry production,
  • improves breast meat yield,
  • contributes to better animal welfare through dryer litter.

DSM announces that Balancius™, the latest innovation developed within its Alliance with Novozymes, is now available in the EU. Balancius™ is a microbial muramidase designed to support gastrointestinal functionality thereof optimizing the feed efficiency and consequently supporting the sustainability of broiler production. Successfully launched in the USA and Latin America in September 2018, Balancius™ is now authorized for sale for broilers in all EU countries (Regulation (EU) 2019/805 of 17/05/2019), as well as in South Africa, Nigeria, and Serbia.

An innovative feed ingredient, Balancius™ hydrolyses the major cell wall component (peptidoglycan) in the dead bacteria, present in the gut, thus improving nutrients availability. This unique mode of action differentiates it from the other solutions in this space, which target indirectly living bacteria. By including Balancius™ in the feed for broilers, feed producers can improve feed conversion ratio by 4–6 points (3%), translating to significant cost savings. Balancius™ has also been shown to substantially increase breast meat yield and to enhance animal welfare through drier litter.

 “Today marks a new milestone in the expansion for Balancius™, and a great news for the EU where we feel a high level of interest for this innovation, until now only available in the USA and Latin America. We are delighted to have the opportunity to share the news with our customers as well as with the scientific community during ESPN, which is one of Europe’s most influential poultry nutrition congresses” explains Peter Fisher, Vice President Animal Nutrition & Health EMEA, DSM.

Balancius™ is the latest innovation from the Alliance of DSM with Novozymes, reflecting the strength of its scientific capabilities as well as its capacity to significantly and responsibly improve sustainable animal production.

“Together DSM and Novozymes have developed a solution that contributes to the growth and welfare of animals by digesting bacterial cell debris from the gut. No other technology works like this” says Susanne Palsten Buchardt, Vice President Commercial at Novozymes for Animal Health & Nutrition. “It’s a game-changing innovation based on our 20 years Alliance with DSM.”

“As a leader in Animal Nutrition & Health, we are at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. The launch of Balancius™ is a testimony of our leadership position, which we will further expand with our world-class research and development capabilities and with the broadest species-specific solution offer in the industry”, explains Sebastian Marten, Vice President Enzymes & Eubiotics, Animal Nutrition & Health, DSM.

Based on the FAO’s estimates of greenhouse gas emissions in chicken production, Balancius™ could reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 9 Mio tons globally – the equivalent of 3.7 million cars being taken off the road*.

Today’s announcement is supported by data from more than 80 international research and customer evaluation studies. Ongoing trials are currently addressing the potential for the extension of Balancius™ into other species, starting with turkeys which has already a favorable EFSA opinion published early May 2019*.

To date, Balancius™ is available in EU, in most Latin American countries and in the USA while launch in South-Asia is expected in the coming months. 

* References upon request.