BioCopy combating African swine fever
Aadorf TG – BioCopy Holding AG has agreed a collaboration with the Institute of Virology and Immunology. The two partners want to work together to develop a vaccine against African swine fever. The virus has been spreading and is fatal to domestic pigs.
Based in the St.GallenBodenseeArea, BioCopy Holding AG has developed a technique to copy biomolecules as a basis for its applications. This includes the identification of vaccine precursors within a short period of time, the company writes on its website. It is now joining forces with the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) from Köniz in the canton of Bern. According to a press release, the companies will be researching a vaccine and developing new diagnostic methods in the fight against African swine fever (ASF).
African swine fever has circulated in Eastern Europe for many years and reached wild boar populations in Eastern Germany last year, as BioCopy explains. Now, “it is only a matter of time before it passes to domestic pigs”. It is estimated that resultant losses due to potential export restrictions would amount to €6 billion for Germany alone.
In the first stage, BioCopy and the IVI will identify immunological target proteins of the ASF virus. BioCopy will contribute its highly innovative protein mapping platform to the collaboration, while sera and genomic material will be supplied by the IVI. The BioCopy platform can be used for any pathogen and could play a significant role in containing future pandemics. It may nonetheless take years of research before a vaccine against ASF and diagnostic methods become available.