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Colorado Company Working On E. Coli Vaccination

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Feb 7, 2009 8:07 pm US/Mountain

Colorado Company Working On E. Coli Vaccination

Written by Paul Day
Reporting
Paul Day
DENVER (CBS4) ― A Colorado company claims it could have prevented this week's E. coli outbreak linked to the National Western Stock Show.

"It's a very simple process," said Dr. Tony Milici, President of Genethera.

The Wheat Ridge biotech company is developing an E. coli vaccine. The new drug, called E-co Guard, has been proven 99 percent successful in the first phase of testing with rabbits, according to Milici. But it has a long way to go before it hits the market.

The next step -- which is about to begin -- is clinical testing with cattle.

"It's very important that clinical trials illustrate it can be effective," said Terry Fankhauser, Colorado Cattlemen's Association Executive Vice President.

E. coli bacteria occurs naturally in the digestive track. he bacteria in cattle is toxic to humans and can be fatal.

E-co Guard essentially neutralizes the toxicity so the bacteria is harmless to people.
But funding has dried up with the bad economy.

"We've been trying to partner with larger companies," Milici said.

The company estimates a single shot inoculation would cost $20.

Even if the drug receives regulatory approval and becomes commercially available, Milici is not sure it would be widely used because there's no requirement to do so.

"I think, at the federal level, they need to implement some sort of mandatory programs." Milici said.

But Fankhauser says ranchers would buy and use the drug if it really works. He says the Beef Industry in the U.S. already shells out $350 million every year for food safety and controlling E. coli is its top priority.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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