ANADIS BOVINE COLOSTRUM ‘FLU THERAPY DATA
November 30th 2008 06:33
Wednesday November 26, 2008
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ANADIS
Anadis says mice treated with a compound derived from colostrum from vaccinated cows markedly reduced levels of influenza virus in their respiratory tracts.
Anadis said a team from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology & Immunology, led by Prof Lorena Brown, would present the trial data at the Australasian Society of Immunology conference in Canberra, December 7-11, 2008.
Previously, Anadis reported the study was designed to test influenza prevention and treatment and demonstrated the ability of the antibody spray to “switch-off” virus replication in the respiratory tract lining (see Biotech Daily; August 20, 2008).
The study entitled ‘Anti-Influenza IgG And F(ab’)2 Produced From Hyper-Immune Bovine Colostrum For The Prophylaxis And Treatment Of Influenza Infection’ investigated immunoglobulin G antibody (IgG) and antibody fragment F(ab’)2 purified from the hyper-immune colostrum of cows vaccinated with influenza A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) vaccine and was shown to have “very high haemagglutination-inhibitory and virus-neutralizing titres”, Anadis said.
The company said the IgG preparation was tested for its therapeutic potential in BALB/c mouse models of upper and total respiratory tract infection by influenza.
A single 50µg dose of anti-PR8 IgG administered to the nose one day after the establishment of an upper respiratory tract infection “markedly reduced the levels of virus in the nasal turbinates” Anadis said.
At the peak of viral replication (day three, post-infection), anti-PR8 IgG-treated mice had 100-fold lower viral titres compared to an untreated group.
With a larger dose of 200µg, complete clearance of virus from the nose could be seen in 30 percent of treated animals.
Anti-PR8 IgG was also effective in reducing viral loads in the lungs when given one day after a total respiratory tract infection, Anadis said.
Anadis said complete pulmonary protection was observed in 60 percent of mice given a single dose of 500µg IgG and doubling the dose gave complete clearance in all animals.
The study said that in an experiment involving challenge with a lethal dose of PR8 virus, mice treated with non-immune colostrum-derived IgG or F(ab’)2 were culled by day seven after showing rapid weight loss and severe clinical signs.
Mice given a single dose of anti-PR8 IgG or F(ab’)2 showed no weight loss and the virus infection remained subclinical.
Anadis said the observations suggested “that a novel and commercially-scalable technique for preparing antibody from hyper-immune bovine colostrum is capable of providing preparations with significant protective activity post-exposure”.
Anadis said that the study concluded that, as the current influenza vaccine was not administered to the entire population and was less than 100 percent efficacious in the vaccinated target groups; therapeutic antibodies topically applied to the mucosal surface could provide a significant additional tool to control influenza within the community.
Anadis’s head of business development Dr Oren Fuerst said the results highlighted the commercial potential of the company’s ‘Flubody’ intellectual property.
“For the first time, there are commercially available antibodies against flu that could be manufactured in large scale and at low cost,” Dr Fuerst said.
“The current global market for prevention and treatment of flu and cold is around $US10 billion and together with commercial partners, we plan to become a significant player in this market,” Dr Fuerst said.
“Given the excellent safety profile of the colostrum-based platform, we plan to initiate efficacy clinical trials within less than a year,” Dr Fuerst said.
Anadis was unchanged at 5.1 cents.
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