SmithKline Beecham Animal Health and Yale University onTuesday announced a pact to create a veterinary vaccineagainst Lyme disease.

The agreement extends a collaboration begun last yearbetween the two parties on human Lyme disease, which isnamed for the Connecticut town where Yale rheumatologistsidentified the illness in 1975.

Left untreated, the tick-borne disease can cause fever,lameness and heart disease or other consequences in dogs andhumans.

Tuesday's agreement gives SmithKline Beecham (NYSE:SBH) aworldwide exclusive license to Yale patents that will allow thecompany to develop a preventive vaccine for dogs and otheranimals. The company will pay license and royalty fees to Yale.

"By providing a vaccine against Lyme disease for animals, wecan help both the pet and the pet owner avoid the debilitatingeffects of Lyme disease," said Ignace R. Goethals, president ofSmithKline Beecham Animal Health, a division of SmithKlineBeecham plc.

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.