| Issue 9 23 March 2007 |
| Welcome to Pharm Fresh eZine Our weekly electronic briefing brings you key research developments in our industry and alerts you to relevant new research papers published in technical journals around the world. Don't forget to check out our new-look website at www.animalpharmnews.com |
 Research News |
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| Measuring metal in bird feathers could help track AIV | |||
Measuring levels of the metal strontium in birds' feathers could help predict the likelihood of avian influenza virus (AIV) outbreaks, says new research. Dr Laura Font of the University of Durham, UK, said that these measurements could help monitor the movements of migrating birds, and determining migration pathways could be used to identify the arrival of potential vectors of diseases, such as avian flu. Migratory bird movements, rather than human activities, are believed to be the main vector of the virus in most outbreaks, she says. Recent concerns over the spread of avian flu have highlighted the need for better techniques that can monitor birds' migratory patterns. Dr Font claims that conventional methods such as unique metal leg-rings, radio or satellite tags, or counting bird numbers at migratory stop-over points require too much work, generate "relatively little data" and often do not reveal the origins of individual birds. As a result, Dr Font and her colleagues have developed a migratory movement technique based on thermal ionization mass spectrometry that can measure low concentrations of strontium in bird feathers. This has allowed them to map how concentrations of the metal in feathers of the sedge warbler vary according to geographic location. Dr Font says that birds renew their feathers regularly, often before migration, and these feathers reflect the isotope signature of the region where they were grown. Strontium isotope ratios in bones, claws and egg shells give a very precise idea of their location, says Dr Font, but analysis of these is too invasive for routine use. Now, Font's technique has made accurate analysis of strontium in feathers possible. The study has been published in the March 14th issue of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry.
Care to share a comment? Email: sita.shah@informa.com |
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| Pfizer and Crucell in research license agreement | |||
Dutch biotechnology company Crucell, developer of the proprietary PER.C6 production cell line technology, has signed a research license agreement with Pfizer Animal Health that will allow Pfizer to use the technology to develop a undisclosed veterinary vaccine. Financial details of the deal were also not disclosed, but Crucell said that Pfizer had an option to commercialize the license. Spokespersons from both companies declined to comment further. The technology is used for the production of human and animal vaccines, antibodies, and gene therapies, among others. In December 2002, Crucell formed an alliance with DSM Biologics to expand manufacturing to therapeutic proteins and monoclonal antibodies. Crucell says that many of its pipeline products are based on its technology - these include vaccines for Ebola, West Nile virus, influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, and rabies. |
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 Research
Roundup |
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Agricultural Research, Vol. 55, No. 3; March 2007 (United States Department of Agriculture) |
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Another "Turn of the Screw"-worm Saga |
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Avian Pathology, Vol. 36, Issue 1; February 2007 (Taylor & Francis) | ||
Salmonella infections: immune and non-immune protection with vaccines Expression of chicken interleukin-2 by turkey herpesvirus increases the immune response against Marek's disease
virus but fails to increase protection against virulent challenge |
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Xenobiotica, Vol. 37, March 2007 (Informa Healthcare) | ||
Role of ATP-binding cassette drug transporters in the intestinal absorption of tanshinone IIB, one of the major
active diterpenoids from the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza |
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British Poultry Science, Volume 48, Issue 1; February 2007 (Taylor & Francis) | ||
A comparison of the effects of different yeast products and antibiotic on broiler performance Effect of dietary supplementation of astaxanthin by Phaffia rhodozyma on lipid peroxidation, drug metabolism and
some immunological variables in male broiler chicks fed on diets with or without oxidised fat |
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 Movers & Shakers |
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| Alan Reade joins Accura as chairman of advisory board | |||
Alan Reade is joining Accura, a PLUS-quoted animal health company, as chairman of its advisory board. Mr Reade was previously executive chairman and chief executive of Merial. Accura recently announced plans to divest its human pharmaceutical business and focus exclusively on animal health. Mr Reade says that Accura has "found and is exploiting a vacuum that exists ... for pharmaceutical products for companion animals". |
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| Putney names chief commercial officer | |||
New US generic veterinary drug company Putney has named Hem Pandya as its chief commercial officer.... To access the full content, subscribe to Pharm Fresh, our FREE weekly briefing. |
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