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Farm-Scape, Episode 1314

Scientists at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization are zeroing in on a class of synthetic compounds which enhance the effectiveness of orally delivered vaccines.

Scientists at VIDO have been evaluating a new class of compounds which protect the vaccine antigen in the gastrointestinal tract after being consumed. That increases their uptake by specific sites in the intestine.

Immunology Program Manager Dr. Philip Griebel says this is a very harsh environment so oral vaccine delivery has been avoided in the past because of vaccine destruction.

"We feel that we have now identified some very novel compounds that will not only protect the vaccine in this environment but will increase the efficiency with which it enters the body from the gastrointestinal tract.

What is very exciting about one class of these compounds is that they also have the ability to enhance or boost the immune response to the vaccine at the same time. These are compounds that are produced synthetically.

We have been working them for over a year now, characterizing their biological properties and looking at the safety of the compounds and now feel that we've clearly demonstrated they are a very safe class of compounds.

The company that we're working with on these compounds has shown they can be synthesized relatively inexpensively which is always an important issue in vaccines to ensure that they are cost effective and that they can be produced in a very consistent manner to ensure that every dose of vaccine would be identical."

Dr. Griebel says the next phase will be to determine the type of immune protection that will be achieved when delivering different vaccines with these compounds. He estimates it'll take a year or two to identify the optimal compounds and it could be two to three years down the road before commercial product can be brought forward.