CSIRO researchers have developed a prototype vaccine against a scourge of the world's poultry industry, infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV).
The fourteen-strong IBDV research team, led by Drs Ahmed Azad and Colin Ward of CSIRO Molecular Science, and Dr Kevin Fahey, formerly of CSIRO Animal Health, has been awarded the CSIRO Chairman's Medal for 1997. The gold medal, with a cheque for $25,000, is awarded annually for outstanding research achievement.
"The IBDV research team developed the first prototype vaccine of this sort in the world for veterinary purposes," said CSIRO Chairman Charles Allen. "The control of IBDV infection is a major priority for the poultry industry, with losses caused by IBDV estimated to be high as a billion dollars a year worldwide.
"When the vaccine is commercialised, its market potential is over 250 million doses a year."
Mr Allen said that the Australian poultry industry provides the country's second most popular meat, with Australians consuming on average twenty-eight kilograms per person per year.
Starting in the mid-1980's, the multidisciplinary research team covered the whole spectrum of vaccine research, said Mr Allen.
"They described the size and nature of the genetic make-up of the virus, and cloned and sequenced both segments of the double-stranded RNA which is characteristic of the Birnaviridae family," said Mr Allen. "They could then apply this knowledge to develop the IBDV vaccine."
Mr Allen said that the team had identified the viral protein needed to produce protective immunity following vaccination, and mapped its antibody binding mechanism. This enabled the team to understand how the outbreaks of new strains of IBDV in the USA and Europe occurred.
"This is far more than a laboratory experiment," said Mr Allen. "The research team went on to develop yeast fermentation systems,
and laid down the ground-rules for large-scale production and processing of the vaccine. The team worked with a commercial partner, Arthur Webster Pty Ltd, and assisted in the industrial scale-up of the process."
Corporate takeovers and other factors prevented the final commercialisation of the vaccine at that time. However the researchers persevered. A year later the intellectual property reverted to CSIRO and has recently been licensed to an international pharmaceuticals company and has significant royalty potential. The DNA vectors used for the production of proteins in yeast fermentation systems have been licensed to AMRAD Corporation Ltd and are being sold worldwide. The project was supported financially by the National Biotechnology Research Grant Scheme and Arthur Webster Pty Ltd.
CSIRO Medals for 1997 were also presented to:
Dr Jim Davidson, for contributions to wheat breeding and agronomy; Dr Davidson developed wheat varieties (Lawson, Paterson, Gordon) which have transformed agricultural and economic prospects of the high-rainfall zone of Eastern Australia, and led to the creation of a new national feed wheat industry.
Mr Paul Gottlieb, for his development of the QEM*SEM system for mineral analysis; Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy has long been recognised as the world's leading image analysis system for mineral samples; Mr Gottlieb has been the driving force in the development of QEM*SEM, and has now planned and completed the 'Next Generation' QEM*SEM system.
Dr Raymond Smith, for his contributions to mineral exploration; Dr Smith is an internationally recognised leader in the development of geological and geochemical exploration methods for base metals, rare metals and gold. His methods have been instrumental in such major discoveries as the Plutonic and Bronzewing gold deposits.
More information from:
Doug Gale CSIRO Molecular Science 03-9662-7332
Niall Byrne CSIRO Animal Health 03-5227-5028