A vaccine against Bovine Leukemia Virus

Transcription

1 Technology Offer A vaccine against Bovine Leukemia Virus Summary A Belgian university team has developed a recombinant Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) with attenuated phenotype and two specific mutations. Efficacy, persistence, safety and pathogenicity make this vaccine unique. The research team is looking for collaboration with companies interested in license agreement. Creation Date 11 December 2013 Last Update 25 June 2015 Expiration Date 05 July 2016 Reference TOBE Details Description Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) is responsible for important economic losses worldwide. Several attempts have been undertaken to develop vaccines against BLV. These traditional vaccine candidates faced problems of inter alia efficacy (i.e., only an inadequately low fraction of vaccinated animals were protected), persistence (i.e., rapid decrease of immune protection in the vaccinated animals), cost (e.g., high cost of production of purified proteins), and/or safety (e.g., use of genetically modified hybrid viruses, such as RVV), pathogenicity at a level that may prevent their widespread use as vaccines in veterinary practice. The Belgian University team aims at understanding the basic mechanisms of cancer in order to develop novel therapeutic approaches. The current research topics include leukemia (HTLV associated adult T-cell leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and bovine leukemia) and thoracic cancers (non-small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma). The expertise of the laboratory includes molecular and cellular biology techniques, animal models of cancer and evaluation of clinical trials in collaboration with different hospitals. In the Bovine Leukemia Virus model, researchers are studying the kinetics of viral replication and they developed a vaccine based on life attenuated strains. The Belgian researchers have realized that by combining certain mutations in the BLV genome, an attenuated BLV may be obtained useful for the production of greatly improved vaccines. These attenuated BLV are infectious, thus facilitating their introduction into the to-be-vaccinated subjects, but replicate at desirably low levels in the vaccinated subjects. Several trials demonstrated in a herd of about 80 animals that the patented recombinant proviruses are efficient and safe because of the: (i) absence of pathology or toxicity in vaccinated cows and in the highly susceptible ovine experimental model, (ii) lack of transmission of the recombinant provirus to uninfected sentinels over a 4 year period, (iii) absence of detectable levels of plasmid DNA Page 1 of 7

2 (deoxyribonucleic acid) (including the B-lactamase gene) as revealed by nested PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). This research team is looking for company, research center to performed industrial development under licence agreement. Advantages and Innovations Such recombinant BLV proviruses may display all of the following advantages: they elicit a strong anti-blv immune response comparable to an immune response to wild-type BLV; they do not spread to uninfected sentinels maintained for prolonged periods of time in the same herd (i.e., satisfactory biosafety as a vaccine); they lead to production of antibodies that are transmitted to the new-born calves via the maternal colostrum, whereby the anti-viral passive immunity persists during several months in the calves; they do not transmit from cows to calves; they cause the vaccinated animals to resist a challenge by a wild type BLV provirus. The production cost of the vaccine is also relatively low. Stage of Development Field tested/evaluated IPR Status Patents granted Comment Regarding IPR status Europe, USA, India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina Profile Origin National R&D programme Keywords Technology Cellular and Molecular Biology Animal Production / Husbandry Veterinary Medicine Market Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry and Related Products NACE M Veterinary activities Dissemination Page 2 of 7

3 Send to Sector Group Healthcare Client Type and Size of Organisation Behind the Profile University Year Established 0 Already Engaged in Trans-National Cooperation Yes Languages Spoken English French Client Country Belgium Partner Sought Type and Role of Partner Sought - Type of partner sought: company, research center - Specific area of activity of the partner: pharmaceutical, veterinary, bovine leukemia, cattle - Task to be performed: industrial development Type and Size of Partner Sought SME 11-50,SME <10,>500 MNE, ,SME ,>500 Type of Partnership Considered License agreement Page 3 of 7

4 Technology Offer Barrier packaging to increase food products shelflife Summary A Spanish research centre has set up a methodology for the development of barrier packaging that increase food products shelflife and reduce food waste. By implementing barrier packaging, less material is needed what implies economic savings and a reduction of the environmental impact. Industrial partners from food and packaging sectors are sought for technical cooperation agreement. Creation Date 17 December 2014 Last Update 03 July 2015 Expiration Date 05 July 2016 Reference TOES Details Description The final quality of a packaged food as well as its shelflife is directly connected with the food and the performance of the packaging materials used. Many products are sensitive to some gases as oxygen or water steam, other are sensitive to light, etc. that is why they need to be packaged with the most appropriate barrier properties materials. The adjustment and the optimization of the framework composition of barrier properties materials allow to adequate the packaging output based on the final use (fresh meat packaging, pastries, dried fruts, etc.) A Spanish research centre with proven experience in developing packaging materials and design has set a methodology for the development of barrier packaging materials that allow better preservation of packaged products, thus increasing its life, less product rotation on shop shelves and a reduction in transport. The development of barrier material depends on the product to be packaged, the heat treatments to which the product is subjected, external factors during transport and storage and the material used to pack (plastic, glass, cardboard, etc). Thus, in the early stages of the developed methodology, there is a study of the product to be packed, what takes into account both the package material and the external factors to which the product is subjected along the value chain. Respecting the product to be packaged, it is typified by evaluating its sensitivity to light, oxidation in the presence of oxygen, and influence of temperature changes and humidity. Moreover, the heat treatments applied once the product is packaged can interfere with the properties Page 4 of 7

5 of the package (barrier materials). Thus, pilot tests are conducted to determine the influence of heat treatment and if a redesign of the material is necessary. For plastic containers, each polymeric material has a different permeability to gases, that is, that it will pass a certain amount of gas (oxygen, water steam, CO2, etc.) according to the time and size of container. Likewise does the barrier to light, temperature, flavours, etc. Once the barriers to use are identified and the package is designed, it is subjected to working conditions in order to check its stability and comply with their target. Specific tools are used to measure the barrier properties. Barrier materials allow increase products shelf life. Once the material is developed and shaped the container, the research centre conducts studies of shelf life in order to determine the new value. Chemical changes (such as oxidation or vitamin loss), development of microorganisms, physicochemical and organoleptic evolution are assessed. The application of barrier materials is diverse. It is currently being implemented in the following areas: -In bottles, alternative technologies to multilayer materials such as coatings, outside or inside of the package, to improve the preservation of food. - In trays or tubs products today is possible to use films and plates with different layers which include gas barrier materials, and also some innovations are being implemented using barrier labels (IML In Mould labelling) of so that the label does double duty to provide product information and confer barrier. - In biodegradable polymers multilayer solutions are being developed in order to obtain fully biodegradable barrier packaging. -In pouched products the use of coatings is increasing - An emerging trend is the use of oxygen absorbers (active barrier) in combination with passive barrier of packaging materials. - Materials with ultraviolet (UV) filters are being introduced to avoid the oxidative processes get accelerated. The centre is interested in establishing technical cooperation agreement with food companies. By applying the methodology, companies would improve their products shelflife and reduce packaging costs. The methodology is offered to packaging developers with the aim of helping them in new products designing. Advantages and Innovations Knowing the options of barrier packaging can offer important advantages: - Food preservation (avoiding spoilage and discolorations) - Increase of shelflife (avoiding the microorganism proliferation) - Economic savings (less material required) - Environmental impact reduction (less material used and food waste decrease) Stage of Development Already on the market IPR Status Secret Know-how Profile Origin Private (in-house) research Page 5 of 7

6 Keywords Technology Market NACE Food Packaging / Handling Wine and liquors Health food Soft drinks and bottling plants Plastic fabricators Polymer (plastics) materials M Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering Client Type and Size of Organisation Behind the Profile R&D Institution Year Established 0 Already Engaged in Trans-National Cooperation No. Languages Spoken English Spanish Client Country Spain Partner Sought Type and Role of Partner Sought Food companies interested in improving their products shelflife and reduce costs associated to packaging are sought. Packaging developers and manufacturers interested in developing novel solutions based on barrier Page 6 of 7

7 materials. Type of Partnership Considered Technical cooperation agreement Page 7 of 7