A Canadian alliance of corporate, government and university researchers was set to launch large-scale field trials this month in Alberta on a vaccine intended to attack E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in live animals.
Plans call for trials to begin with 72,000 cows and, pending a successful outcome, researchers hope to commercialize the vaccine in Canada in 2002. The undertaking received a boost in July when Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) provided biopharmaceutical company and alliance member Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. with $9.6 million in investment funds to support continued clinical studies of the vaccine. Other alliance members include the University of British Columbia (UBC), the Alberta Research Council Inc. (ARC), the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network (CBDN) and the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).