Drug Discovery & Development
Vaccine Candidates Against Johne's Disease
WARF: P05446US
Inventors: Adel Talaat
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing potential vaccine candidates for Johne's disease.
Overview
Johne’s disease is a contagious, chronic and usually fatal wasting disease that primarily affects the small intestine of ruminants. It is a worldwide problem with no known treatment and infects 25 to 50 percent of dairy cattle in the United States. Although a vaccine for Johne’s disease exists, it does not protect against severe infection or transmission of the disease.
The Invention
A UW-Madison researcher has developed potential vaccine candidates for Johne’s disease. The disease is caused by the slow-growing bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, or M. paratuberculosis. The inventor identified several Mycobacterium strain-specific genes that may contribute to the pathogenicity of M. paratuberculosis. These genes could be used to design vaccines against pathogenic subspecies of M. avium, including M. paratuberculosis. In a recent study, vaccine preparations based on these sequences helped protect rodents against infection with M. paratuberculosis.
Applications
- Prevention and treatment of Johne's disease
Key Benefits
- May enable the development of improved vaccines for Johne’s diease
- May lead to methods for preventing and treating Johne’s disease in ruminants and Crohn’s disease in humans, which may be linked to Johne’s disease
Additional Information
For More Information About the Inventors
Related Intellectual Property
Tech Fields
For current licensing status, please contact Emily Bauer at [javascript protected email address] or 608-960-9842