Vet Biotechnology targets equine disease

Animal health and stem-cell company Vet Biotechnology has advanced to the starting gate - and is readying to list on the Newcastle Stock Exchange in late October.

Vet Biotechnology was established in mid 2003 to commercialise a vaccine for a disease of thoroughbred foals, known as 'Rattles', and caused by the Rhodococcus equi bacteria. The vaccine was developed at Adelaide's Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science.

Graduating from a biotechnology incubator, it became a public company in February of this year, and is seeking to raise $285,000 at $0.30 a share. Each share has a pre-attaching option.

"We also have a capacity for $195,000 in oversubscriptions," said LeMessurier, a former international marketing manager for the diagnostics division of US biotech giant Genzyme.

"[Rattles] causes a serious pneumonia, similar to a tuberculosis," he said. "It affects 10 to 20 per cent of foals and can be fatal. There is no vaccine out there, and it's a worldwide phenomenon."

LeMessuier is aiming to secure regulatory approval for a diagnostic for Rattles from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in the third quarter of next year. A prototype is currently in development. "For the vaccine, that is probably 2 years away, from a clinical and regulatory point of view," he said.

Vet Biotechnology holds an exclusive worldwide license to commercialise the original research under Australian Patent Application Number 2001252038 -- 'Antigenic Peptide Fragments of Vap A Protein & Uses Thereof'.

Also in the company's kit is a £74,000 heads of agreement, signed with private UK company VetCell Bioscience and London's Royal Veterinary College, to commercialise stem cell technology for the repair of equine tendon and ligament injuries.

"Racehorses are athletes. Thirty-five per cent of racehorses break down during their career, and there is a really low percentage of recovery," said LeMessurier. "We're supplying adult stem cells to repair those injuries. We take either bone marrow from the horse, or cord blood from the umbilical cord, and store them cryogenically.

"We're in the process of getting regulatory approval from the APVMA here in Australia. The technology has been offered in Europe for 9 months. We're the first company outside Europe to be able to offer it. My goal is to have the services out [on the market] within the next 6 months."

LeMessurier was not able to give details of how many stem-cell procedures had been performed in Europe to date.

The Vet Biotechnology offer is underwritten by WHI Securities in Sydney.