VIDO at the U of S Awarded $4 M for Industrial Research Chairs in Food Safety

Posted October 15, 2004


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 15, 2004 2004-10-14-OTHER

VIDO Awarded $4 M for Industrial Research Chairs in Food Safety

Saskatoon, SK - Two new research chairs, together valued at $4 million over
five years, will be created at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and
Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) to develop new vaccines for combating
food-borne bacteria that can pose a serious threat to human health.

The new chairs were jointly announced at VIDO today by Krystyna
Miedzybrodzka, Director of Bio-Industries at Science and Engineering
Research Canada (NSERC), and Dr. Dragan Rogan, Vice-President of Research
and Development for Bioniche Animal Health, a division of Bioniche Life
Sciences Inc. The funding is provided through an NSERC program that promotes
research partnerships between the private sector and universities.

"The vaccines that will be developed by the new chairs at VIDO will help
safeguard the population against dangerous diseases, benefit farmers and
create commercial opportunities for Canadian companies," said federal
Industry Minister David Emerson.

Steven Franklin, U of S Vice-President of Research, noted there are more
than 70 million reported cases of food-borne illness in North America each
year.

"This public-private partnership will significantly advance VIDO's
world-class research in the development of vaccines to reduce food and water
contamination," Franklin said. "Health is a key strategic research focus of
the U of S, and this is another example of new U of S life science
initiatives that are attracting internationally renowned scientists and
academics to Saskatoon."

The chairs will support research into control of enterohemorrhagic E. coli
in cattle, and Salmonella enteriditis and Campylobacter jejuni in poultry.
These bacteria don't cause significant disease in animals but are difficult
both to control in animals and to treat in infected humans. C. jejuni
infection in humans can lead to long-term problems including arthritis.

Recipients of the NSERC/Bioniche Industrial Research Chairs are Andrew
Potter, VIDO Associate Director-Research (Senior Chair), and Wolfgang
Köster (Associate Chair), joining VIDO from the Swiss Federal Institute
for Environmental Science and Technology in Dübendorf, Switzerland.

"Bioniche is investing $400,000 each year for five years into these Research
Chairs," noted Graeme McRae, President and CEO of Bioniche Life Sciences
Inc. "This is a significant investment in essential research that will
ultimately reduce the spread of infectious diseases from animals to humans,
a serious health risk in society."

The chairs will capitalize on VIDO's experience in the development of an E.
coli O157:H7 vaccine that is currently being commercialized.

"Our earlier collaboration with Bioniche has resulted in a vaccine against
E. coli O157:H7 in cattle," says Senior Chair recipient Potter. "This
funding will allow us to extend that work into vaccines against additional
pathogens using platform technologies developed at VIDO."

VIDO director Lorne Babiuk, a U of S Canada Research Chair in Vaccinology
and Biotechnology, notes that both chair holders are highly skilled in
molecular pathogenesis, vaccine development and technology transfer.

"Food-related illnesses are becoming more common, and as antibiotic
resistance grows, we need to be looking at new defences," he said.

VIDO is a world leader in vaccine development. Continuing an ambitious
expansion program, it will lead a state-of-the-art vaccine research and
development centre, to be known as INTERVAC, to be built on campus by 2009.
The $61.8-million facility will serve local RandD teams, commercial
partners, and researchers from Canadian and international universities,
research institutes, and governments.

NSERC (www.nserc.ca), a key federal scientific research granting agency,
supports basic university research through discovery grants and project
research through partnerships among universities, governments and the
private sector.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (www.bioniche.com) is a leading,
fully-integrated Canadian biopharmaceutical company focused on the
discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of proprietary products
for human and animal health markets worldwide. The Company employs more than
300 individuals and has three principal operating divisions: Animal Health,
Food Safety, and Human Health, which includes Bioniche Therapeutics and
Bioniche Pharma Group.

VIDO (www.vido.org) is recognized by the scientific community as a world
leader in RandD and commercialization of vaccines and novel formulation and
delivery systems for livestock and human diseases. VIDO is a financially
self-reliant, non-profit organization owned by the University of
Saskatchewan and operates with substantial support from the governments of
Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as Government of Canada and industry
competitive grants.

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For more information, contact:

Kathryn Warden
Director, U of S Research Communications
(306) 966-2506
www.usask.ca/research

Suzanne Godbout
Communications
NSERC
(613) 943-0310
www.nserc.ca

Jennifer Shea
Corporate Communications Manager
Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.
(613) 966-8058 ext. 1250
Jennifer.Shea@Bioniche.com
_____________________

Backgrounder

The Pathogens

Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)
The family to which E. coli O157:H7 belongs, EHEC is a significant zoonotic
pathogen of humans. It causes severe diarrhea and in a small percentage of
cases, hemolytic-uremic syndrome and kidney failure. Unfortunately,
antibiotics can worsen human disease, and there are no current therapies for
human EHEC infections. Strains of serotype O157:H7 cause the majority of
reported human illness. Cattle and their products have been associated with
the vast majority of cases of E. coli O157:H7 infection in humans.

Campylobacter jejuni
C. jejuni is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness in North
America and around the globe. This organism causes significant
gastroenteritis in humans that is clinically similar to that caused by
Salmonella. However, C. jejuni can have chronic consequences, including
arthritis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Human infection is often the
result of consumption or handling of contaminated poultry.

Salmonella enteriditis
This human pathogen can colonize poultry without causing clinical disease
and be present in eggs that, if improperly cooked or handled, can lead to
infection of humans. After Campylobacter, Salmonella species cause the
greatest number of food-related illnesses. Human infection is characterized
by fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after
consuming a contaminated food or beverage. Diarrhea can be severe enough to
warrant hospitalization.

NSERC Industrial Chairs
Created in 1984, the NSERC Industrial Research Chairs program aims to:

* assist universities in building on existing strengths to achieve the
critical mass required for a major research endeavour in science and
engineering of interest to industry; and/or

* assist in the development of research efforts in fields that have not yet
been developed in Canadian universities but for which there is an important
industrial need.

* The sponsor(s) will normally contribute up to half the cost, in cash, with
NSERC contributing the remainder. NSERC may assume a larger share of the
direct costs when a company makes a significant in-kind contribution in
addition to the cash support. Provincial or federal government departments
and agencies can also co-sponsor an IRC, but only industrial contributions
are taken into account when NSERC determines its contribution level.

* To date, 303 chairs have been awarded nationally.

* NSERC's commitment to the IRC program to date is $199.5 M, with
an industrial commitment of $169.4 M.

* This announcement brings to nine the number of NSERC Industrial Research
Chairs awarded to the University of Saskatchewan.