Its official! Eight years on from the initiation of a (then Australian) Poultry CRC project led by Dr Peter Scott (03-12), our industry partner Bioproperties has received Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) registration for Vaxsafe® PM (strain PMP-1). This live attenuated vaccine has been developed for the control of fowl cholera in chickens due to infection with virulent homologous or heterologous strains of Pasteurella multocida.
Speaking of this in 2010 Dr Scott stated, “Vaxsafe® PM has major additional benefits over traditional killed vaccines as killed autogenous vaccines are only effective against homologous strains, whereas live vaccines give a level of heterologous protection against a wide range of strains. As there are many serovars of Pasteurella multocida it is very difficult for a poultry operation to apply the correct killed autogenous vaccine to prevent the next infection which may possibly be caused by a different strain to the one that infected a previous flock. Vaxsafe® PM live vaccine has a gene deletion (aroA) which limits its ability to grow in the vaccinated host (chicken). This makes it much safer than traditionally attenuated live vaccine strains.”
The registration of Vaxsafe® PM gives Bioproperties a certificate of free sale, allowing them to now market this product to chicken producers across Australia and begin registration in countries outside of Australia. Dr Rima Youil, Bioproperties R&D Manager, spoke about the potential for the vaccine. “It is difficult to predict what the commercial uptake will be in Australia”, she said. “We are hoping that the Australian poultry farmers who currently have a problem with fowl cholera will give Vaxsafe® PM an early opportunity to show its superior heterologous protection capabilities in their flocks. With the trend to non caged layers, Pasturella will likely become more prevalent in the Australian layer industry and this vaccine will become an important tool in the prevention of Fowl Cholera. In addition to providing vaccine, we also offer excellent technical services through our Global Technical Manager, Dr Chris Morrow, that will help facilitate an effective uptake and use of this vaccine”.
Now that the vaccine has gained registration for use in Australia, Bioproperties will be looking to seek registration in other countries in which they wish to distribute this product. “Some countries may seek field trials to be conducted in their countries first but others may not require it”, said Dr Youil. “Field trials are already underway in Mexico and hopefully they will be the first of our successful international registrations for Vaxsafe® PM”.
Further work to establish the safety and efficacy of Vaxsafe® PM in ducks is the next step for Bioproperties. “We have been working with our collaborators in Mexico to conduct some duck efficacy trials to complete official registration for use of Vaxsafe® PM in ducks”, said Dr Youil.
Registration of a vaccine is a long drawn-out process. “From concept to commercialisation takes ten years on average”, said the CEO of Poultry CRC, Professor Mingan Choct. “Under the changing regulatory goalpost, we have got Vaxsafe® PM out on the market in eight years thanks to the effort of our researchers and partners, such as Bioproperties and The University of Melbourne”. “A lot of science and innovation has gone into this vaccine and I hope our industry partners will reap the benefit of it now that it is registered”.
