April 15, 2024 - Dr. Richard Matner, President of PlantPharm BioMed, Ltd. will be presenting at the International Symposium on One Health Research: Improving Food Security and Resilience, in Galveston, Texas April 21–23, 2024. Dr. Matner will present PlantPharm BioMed’s scientific research poster ‘Plant-based, Feed-delivered SARS-CoV-2 Animal Vaccine’, and discuss the work that PlantPharm BioMed is doing to develop a feed-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for animals. The symposium will draw leaders from industries such as agriculture, public health, veterinary health, and food safety, to engage in discussions about research addressing complex issues affecting animal transmission of pathogens to humans.
PlantPharm BioMed has been working to develop an edible vaccine to address zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between animals and humans. The edible vaccine will help break the animal-related path of the pandemic chain of COVID-19 by vaccinating animals of multiple species whether wild or domestic, with oral, solid dose pellets mixed into feed stations.
The project is funded through a collaborative agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). PlantPharm BioMed was chosen for this award as it supports the actions of APHIS toward the world-wide “One Health initiative” - a concept that recognizes that the health of people, animals and the environment are linked.
APHIS is currently conducting multiple projects related to One Health, including those aimed at understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus behaves in different animals, how it moves between animals and people, and what we can do to interrupt the chain of transmission. APHIS, PlantPharm BioMed, and the One Health initiative will utilize the findings from these collective studies to help prevent or reduce the impact of future zoonotic disease outbreaks.
PlantPharm BioMed has invested more than 30 years conducting research on the controlled environment growth of gene-edited plants leading to the Company’s proprietary technology and ability to create low-cost and effective plant-grown biopharmaceuticals and solid dose, oral vaccines. The Company’s technology has been demonstrated in a successful FDA-approved human clinical trial of an orally administered plant-based Hepatitis B vaccine grown in plants.
PlantPharm BioMed will be seeking funding to support their continued research and development in both animal and human plant-based vaccine technology.
