Medgene, a South Dakota-based vaccine company, has received a USDA license to produce the first Prescription Platform Vaccines (RxPP) for the cattle industry, allowing veterinarians to respond to emerging diseases quickly.
The specific cattle vaccines available under the new platform vaccine category include Influenza D virus, Coronavirus, Rotavirus, and Papillomavirus, according to Robert “Bob” Gentry, DVM and bovine manager for Medgene.
“From a veterinarian standpoint, this technology is another good tool in the toolbox that is very precise, not just for addressing a disease, but also for specific strains of that disease,” Gentry says.
“We can identify a disease and provide a vaccine within weeks instead of years. For animal owners, that can mean tremendous difference in the health of their animals,” Gentry adds.
Medgene’s vaccine approach leverages USDA-approved “platform technology” guidelines that are safe, and easily adapted to multiple animal disease targets, according to Andy Smythe, national sales manager for the company. The result is the development of vaccines and an understanding of how diseases move across species and geographies within a fraction of the time of traditional vaccine approaches.
“We can be more relevant to a disease within a population of cattle,” Smythe says. “For instance, maybe a Kansas cow-calf herd might have Corona circulating that is one particular sequence. But in West Virginia, let’s say there’s some difference in the disease. This technology allows us to be specific to what is actually circulating in that herd.”
The manufacturing process for prescription platform vaccines is consistent from vaccine to vaccine, Smythe adds, with the only change being the gene of interest that is inserted into the vector system to generate antigenic proteins in the Medgene lab.
The development process begins by discovering a unique viral sequence or gene of interest from a producer’s herd through collaboration with their veterinarian and the diagnostic laboratory and progresses to the development of a vaccine that matches that viral sequence without having to grow the virus itself, Smythe says. The collaborative process ensures that beef and dairy producers can get a vaccine that precisely meets their needs in days or weeks instead of years.
“We work with the diagnostic laboratory to get the sequences made for the construct, and then we’ll work with a veterinarian and his producer to come together on the best formulation,” he says.
Smythe likens the vaccine platform technology to a household coffee pod machine where different pods can brew different coffee flavors “just like if you want to change the flavor of your morning coffee from breakfast blend to hazelnut,” Smythe says.
In addition to cattle, Smythe says Medgene is also producing platform vaccines for swine, rabbits and deer.
To learn more about Medgene’s work and current offerings contact Andy Smythe at AndyS@Medgenelabs.com. A brief video on the company and offerings are available at youtube.com/watch?v=_qQ4Fxc2b8c
