Hematech gives update on toxin antibody

Hematech gives update on toxin antibody

	Published : Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:46 By : Agencies Print this Story

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A federal official specializing in biodefense said Wednesday that U.S. soldiers need vaccines and biological countermeasures that are safe, robust and easy to administer in the field.

Col. David Williams, a Department of Defense joint project manager of Chemical Biological Medical Systems, was in Sioux Falls to meet with executives from Hematech Inc., which is developing a system to collect and purify human antibodies from specially bred transgenic cattle.

Hematech and the Defense Department been working together for about 4 years to develop an antibody against botulinum toxin.

Botulinum toxin in smaller doses is used by doctors to treat muscle spasms and, under the brand name Botox, as a cosmetic treatment to eliminate wrinkles. But it's lethal in high doses and has been considered a threat as a bioterrorism agent since the 1950s, Williams said.

'We have a really robust science and technology research side that are working on all these 'what if' drills and basic research,' he said. 'So when a problem does come up, we can reach those companies like this and be able to pull out some solutions.'

To get a drug approved for use by soldiers, the Defense Department and its partners must go through the same Food and Drug Administration regulatory process as any pharmaceutical company, Williams said.

Hematech's system, which uses blood from genetically altered cattle to produce antibodies, can apply not only to biodefense, but also immune deficiencies, infectious diseases and cancer, said Jim Robl, Hematech's president and chief scientific officer.

'What it boils down to is a cow that makes human antibodies instead of cow antibodies,' Robl said. 'Why it is broad spectrum is we can immunize the cow against essentially anything, whether it be a toxin or a bacteria or a virus, and we can make a product from that.'

Hematech, which was bought in 2005 by the pharmaceutical division of Japan-based Kirin Brewery Company Ltd., has spent eight years and between $75 and $100 million building a sophisticated manufacturing system that is just about complete, Robl said.

The company is just now to the point where it can start to develop products, which would still takes years to get through the process of clinical evaluation.

'So it has been worth the investment, we believe, because once this manufacturing system is in place, the only thing we have to do to make a new product is to come up with a new vaccine, put it into the cow, collect out the product and go through the regulatory process for approval,' Robl said. 'So we are hoping that we are now to the point where the company and the types of products can really blossom and we can build a very robust product pipeline'

Hematech has also partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health on an anti-anthrax product.