Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Dairy to produce antibodies

SAB Biotheraputics of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, has cloned cattle to produce milk that works as a vaccine against diseases such as influenza, Ebola and Zika viruses.

The company has built barns to house the cattle that are producing milk with antibodies.

The cows are injected with a vaccine and produce antibodies to fight disease.

By taking the plasma from their blood and sterilizing it in a lab, the antibodies could be used in humans.

The company is working toward the first clinical trials on influenza, and if approved, SAB’s cattle are ready to produce the treatment.

The new facility could make enough of the antibody to meet worldwide demand, using just 20% of its capacity.

SAB just completed its first trial in humans for treating MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The results showed that the cow-made antibodies worked just like human antibodies to treat the disease.

SAB will start by moving its 35 cows that now live at the Trans Ova Genetics facility across the border in Iowa.


Those cows were implanted with embryos the day after the groundbreaking, preparing to create the next generation of antibody-producing cows.