Dalan Animal Health, Inc., a biotech company focused on insect health, announced today that it will relocate its headquarters to Athens, Georgia. The company is anticipated to create 20 new jobs over the next five years.

Dalan Animal Health (www.dalan.com) seeks to prevent diseases that affect beneficial insect populations to increase the profitability and yield of pollinated crop farms worldwide. Dalan's first product to market is a honeybee vaccine for American Foulbrood, a highly contagious disease threatening beehives worldwide. The company will expand its product development to other honeybee diseases as well as underserved industries, such as shrimp, mealworms, and grasshoppers used in feed and food production.

Company CEO Dr. Annette Kleiser brings over 20 years of experience in business development, start-up formation, corporate strategy development, and alliance management, both in university technology transfer as well as the biotechnology industry.

"Athens is the ideal location to build an innovative biotechnology company focused on sustainable agriculture," explains Dr. Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health. "We're excited to be a part of this community and take advantage of its many benefits to achieve significant and sustained growth."

Dalan Animal Health has already begun collaborations with UGA faculty, including Dr. Keith Delaplane, Director of the Honeybee Program in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine's Dr. Jörg Mayer. The company also plans to engage with UGA students and alumni as they develop a talent pipeline.

The company's headquarters is located in the University of Georgia's Innovation Hub, within the growing Innovation District in downtown Athens.

"We are proud to welcome Dalan Animal Health to Athens-Clarke County, and there could be no better fit, as our shared focus on innovation, resilience, and long-term quality of life is perfectly in harmony," said Mayor Kelly Girtz. "I am confident that making their home in Athens will offer a host of collaborative opportunities, from world-class University of Georgia research and development units to a number of peers in our private-sector bioscience community."

The Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Department worked with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and University of Georgia Economic Development and Innovation Gateway on the company’s relocation.

For more information about the Athens-Clarke County Economic Development Department, visit www.investathensga.com, email [email protected], or call 706-613-3233.  For more information about Dalan Animal Health, please visit www.dalan.com.