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ViroVet NV, a leading Belgian biopharmaceutical company active in the development of innovative vaccines and antiviral drugs for livestock, announced a collaboration with GALVmed, an international not-for-profit vaccines development company. Under the collaboration, ViroVet will extend its vaccine pipeline to include novel vaccines for small ruminants.
Since its capital increase in December 2016, ViroVet started developing novel and innovative vaccines using a unique technology platform. The technology enables mass production of inexpensive modified live vaccines that can be tailor-made to maximize efficacy and minimize safety concerns, while removing any cold chain requirement. Using this technology platform, ViroVet is now designing and developing innovative vaccines for endemic and epizootic viral livestock diseases.
Dr Nesya Goris, co-founder and CDO of ViroVet: “Our technology allows us to rationally develop and consistently produce combination vaccines protecting against multiple diseases at the same time. Our vaccines are stable for weeks at temperatures of up to 50°C underpinning the truly disruptive nature of our vaccine platform.”
In Africa and the Middle East, the sheep and goat industry faces four main economically devastating and/or lethal viral and bacterial diseases. These are: Rift Valley fever (an agent with zoonotic potential), peste des petits ruminants (PPR), sheep and goat pox (SGP) and contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) - diseases that threaten the livelihood of millions of smallholder farmers.
Dr Erwin Blomsma, co-founder and CEO of ViroVet: “Together with the University of Leuven, we have been working on what we believe is a unique technology that will help us overcome many of the challenges we face in designing, producing and employing vaccines.”
Dr Jeremy Salt, Chief Scientific Officer at GALVmed, added, “We are delighted that we can help accelerate the application of this exciting technology and ultimately facilitate the introduction of efficacious, low cost and easier to handle vaccines to the developing world.”
GALVmed, through its partners, makes livestock vaccines, medicines and diagnostics accessible and available to the millions of smallholder livestock and poultry keepers in developing countries for whom livestock is a lifeline. The international not-for-profit company harnesses the best available expertise and capabilities to develop vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for neglected livestock diseases impacting smallholders in Africa and South Asia. GALVmed is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Government.
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