-survey conducted for Bioniche Food Safety-
BELLEVILLE, ON, March 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Bioniche Life
Sciences Inc. (TSX: BNC), a research-based, technology-driven
Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that a survey
conducted among a random sample of 771 Canadian beef and dairy
farmers in all regions of Canada
showed that the majority are willing to implement changes on the
farm to prevent contamination by E. coli O157.
Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. has developed and licensed (in
Canada) the world's first vaccine
to reduce the shedding by cattle of E. coli O157. Econiche(TM)
received full licensing approval from the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) in October, 2008 and is available for unrestricted
use by Canadian cattle producers and their veterinarians. The
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) cleared the path for
a conditional license for the vaccine in February, 2008, and the
Company is awaiting issuance of that license.
In the independently conducted survey, just over half of the
producers surveyed expressed a willingness to vaccinate, but there
was sensitivity to the potential cost of a vaccination program.
Those surveyed believe the cost of a national vaccination program,
if it were to be implemented, should be shared between government
and producers, with 88% of respondents expressing willingness to
vaccinate if the vaccine was provided free of charge. Their main
reasons for supporting vaccination were: Food safety, the potential
impact of recalls, and access to export markets.
"The use of chlorinated water, bacteriophages and probiotics
help control the organisms, but vaccination provides the greatest
reduction in fecal shedding," said Dr. Roy
Lewis, a large animal veterinarian in Westlock, Alberta (in the January, 2010 issue
of Canadian Cattlemen magazine). "With the vaccine, you are hitting
the problem at its very source, before the bacteria numbers get too
high."
Added Dr. Lewis: "Vaccination, together with all the other
preventive steps, will hopefully keep this dreaded disease to a
minimum and keep consumer confidence in our beef as high as
possible."
Econiche is a Canadian discovery developed by Bioniche Life
Sciences Inc. The vaccine has the potential to significantly reduce
the amount of E. coli O157 shed into the environment by beef and
dairy cattle. This organism does not cause illness in cattle, but
cattle are the primary reservoir for it. Most strains of E. coli
are harmless but some, like O157:H7, can cause severe illness and
even be fatal when ingested by humans from contaminated meat,
vegetables or water. Vaccination of cattle with Econiche can help
reduce the risk of food and waterborne contamination with E. coli
O157.
On-farm interventions to reduce the shedding of E. coli O157 by
cattle, such as simple vaccination of cattle with Econiche, have
the potential to reduce food and water contamination and the
consequences associated with human infection with the deadly
bacteria.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Food Safety
and Inspection Services (FSIS) developed a risk assessment method
to estimate how much human illness caused by E. coli O157 can be
prevented through the use of "pre-harvest interventions" such as
vaccination (Streamlined Analysis for Evaluating the Use of
Preharvest Interventions Intended to Prevent Escherichia coli
O157:H7 Illness in Humans, Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, Volume
6, Number 7, 2009). Researchers created two economic production
functions where the input was the number of vaccinated cattle and
the output was human illness prevented. Although this was a
hypothetical case study, it showed that, "... vaccinating the
entire U.S. herd at a cost of between $2.29
and $9.14 per unit (depending on overall effectiveness of
the vaccine) would be a cost-effective intervention for preventing
E. coli O157:H7 illness in humans."
Human exposure and infection with E. coli O157:H7 can result in
serious health consequences, including abdominal pain and severe
bloody diarrhea. In severe cases, kidney damage can occur and
progress to serious complications and even death. In one of the
reported outbreaks, in Nestle Toll-House cookie dough, 76 persons
from 31 states in the U.S. have been infected with E. coli O157:H7,
with 35 of these hospitalized and 11 with Haemolytic Uremic
Syndrome (HUS) (see below).
Econiche is manufactured in the Bioniche production facility in
Belleville, Ontario, where a
$25-million expansion is taking
place, supported by the Ontario
and Canadian governments. Vaccine supply will be limited during
this manufacturing expansion period.
About E. coli O157:H7
An estimated 100,000 cases of human infection with the E. coli
O157:H7 organism are reported each year in North America. Two to seven per cent of those
people develop haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), a disease
characterized by kidney failure. Five percent of HUS patients die,
many of them children and senior citizens, whose kidneys are more
sensitive to damage.
In addition to being infected by contaminated food or water,
individuals can become infected from E. coli O157:H7 by visiting
animal exhibits. Petting zoos, fairs, and agricultural exhibits
provide many possible routes of transmission for E. coli. Direct
animal contact is the obvious route, but contact with contaminated
products (e.g., sawdust, shavings, soiled clothing or shoes) can
also lead to human infection.
About Econiche
Econiche received international recognition in September 2007 by the Animal Pharm Industry
Excellence Awards as the best new veterinary product for livestock
globally. The vaccine has been developed by a strategic alliance
formed in 2000 between the University of
British Columbia (UBC), the Alberta Research Council (ARC),
the University of Saskatchewan's
Vaccine & Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), and Bioniche,
which holds the rights for worldwide commercialization of the
vaccine. The vaccine prevents the E. coli O157 bacteria from
attaching to the intestines of vaccinated cattle, thereby reducing
their reproduction within the animal, and reducing the amount of
bacteria that can be released through cattle manure in the
environment. More than 30,000 cattle have been involved in clinical
testing of the vaccine.
About Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.
Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. is a research-based,
technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company focused on the
discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of proprietary
products for human and animal health markets worldwide. The
fully-integrated company employs approximately 190 skilled
personnel and has three operating divisions: Human Health, Animal
Health, and Food Safety. The Company's primary goal is to develop
proprietary cancer therapies supported by revenues from marketed
products in human and animal health. Bioniche has been named one of
the Top 50 Best Small and Medium-Sized Employers in Canada for 2009. For more information, please
visit www.Bioniche.com.
Except for historical information, this news release may contain
forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current
expectation regarding future events. These forward-looking
statements involve risk and uncertainties, which may cause, but are
not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and
timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of
corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the
regulatory approval process, and other risks detailed from time to
time in the Company's ongoing quarterly and annual reporting.
SOURCE Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.