Funding will advance commercial production of a new, low-cost vaccine targeted at FMD endemic regions.

August 16, 2018

2 Min Read
Grant awarded for commercial FMD vaccine production
Source: The Pirbright Institute.

Researchers in the U.K., led by The Pirbright Institute, will receive £3.1 million of investment from Wellcome and MSD Animal Health to produce a more affordable and effective vaccine that will protect animals against foot and mouth disease (FMD), the institute announced Aug. 16.

The funding will advance commercial production of a new low-cost vaccine that previous studies have shown to be effective in protecting cattle against multiple serotypes of FMD virus (FMDV). The new research aims to translate these findings into a commercially produced vaccine that will transform the lives of farmers in the poorest regions of the world by decreasing the incidence of disease in their livestock.

Dr. Bryan Charleston, leader of the research and director of The Pirbright Institute, said, “While our initial research has provided proof of concept, this funding will allow us to answer the remaining product development challenges and further improve the stability of the vaccine.”

The vaccine is derived from virus-like particles (VLPs), i.e., FMDV particles that contain no genetic material. These are propagated in insect cells so production is not reliant on growing live infectious virus and is, therefore, much safer to produce, the institute explained. The VLPs have also been engineered to trigger an optimum immune response as well as to be more stable, making the vaccine much easier to store and reducing the need for constant refrigeration.

FMD is endemic in large parts of Africa, South America, the Middle East and Asia. Globally, it is the most economically important infectious disease of livestock, affecting cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and other cloven-footed animals. Countries where the disease is endemic suffer a huge impact to their national and international trade, economic well-being and food security and devastating effects on animal and human health, according to the announcement.

There is a massive shortfall in the availability of FMD vaccines, most strikingly in Africa, and there is a desperate need for a new affordable vaccine. “With several-billion doses of vaccine administered every year, you can appreciate the relevance of our collaborative work,” said professor Dave Stuart, life science director at Diamond Light Source and professor of structural biology with the University of Oxford department of medicine.

The research team will join forces with commercial vaccine producer MSD Animal Health to produce physically stabilized VLPs that can be produced for the current circulating strains of FMDV as well as emerging ones, Pirbright said. The ultimate goal of this research is to substantially increase the availability of safe, effective and affordable vaccines to control FMD in the most severely affected areas worldwide.

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