ReactivLab Ltd - Wins SMART grant to develop new test to detect disease in animals
28 Jan 2008
ReactivLab Limited (“ReactivLab” or “the Company”), the animal disease diagnostics company, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a SMART grant to enable it to carry out further research to create a test that can be used in diagnostic laboratories as well as at the point-of-care in veterinary practices.
Specifically, ReactivLab will use the SMART grant to develop ‘rapid immunoassays for Serum Amyloid A’ for animal disease diagnostics which could provide a significantly more sensitive and rapid diagnostic kit than those currently available.
ReactivLab was formed last year to commercialise new animal health diagnostic technology developed in the University of Glasgow’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The Company provides services and develops kits that can detect acute, chronic and sub-clinical symptoms of inflammation, infection and disease in both companion and farm animals. These tests enable pet owners or farmers to know if their animal is unwell before any visible symptoms appear, enabling early intervention with the best treatment.
Professor David Eckersall, ReactivLab’s Chief Scientific Officer, said: "Measurement of Acute Phase Proteins (APPs) such as Serum Amyloid A can revolutionise the assessment of animal health by detection of diseases caused by infections and inflammation but is being retarded by the lack of rapid and robust tests. The development of rapid tests that can be used in diagnostic laboratories and also at the point-of-care in veterinary practices as funded by the SMART award to ReactivLab will bring this within reach for the benefit of pets, farm animals and their owners."
ReactivLab’s new diagnostic approach, which measures APPs (blood proteins), notably enables vets to intervene with treatments before a condition has advanced significantly but also provides animal owners with a means to monitor animal health on a regular basis.
Specifically, the measurement of APPs provides a method to assess the innate immune system's response to disease. By definition, the APP serum concentration increases or decreases in response to inflammation, infection and trauma. Serum Amyloid A is a key APP found in all species of interest to veterinary medicine with the exception of the rat.
ReactivLab, which estimates the total market for APP tests in the veterinary and animal health diagnostic sector to be worth £250 million, is currently working with companies to increase the use of acute phase protein tests in the animal health drug development process and with pharmaceutical companies on the use of APPs in the pre-clinical drug development process.
The use of APPs as biomarkers of disease is well established in human medicine with C-reactive protein (CRP) being one of the most regularly requested clinical biochemistry tests for diagnosis of human diseases. However, in veterinary diagnosis, although the use of most clinical biochemistry tests is as advanced as in human medicine, the measurement of APPs is in its infancy.
Dr Burrinder Grewal, CEO of ReactivLab, said: “This award is a clear indication of the value and importance of the research and products currently offered by ReactivLab in its endeavours to improve the continuing well being of animals. We welcome the award from the Scottish Government and look forward to developing further products for veterinary practitioners to utilise.”
For more information please contact:
ReactivLab www.reactivlab.com
Dr Burrinder Grewal 0845 643 2096
Notes for Editors
About ReactivLab:
ReactivLab was formed in 2007 to commercialise new animal health diagnostic technology developed in the University of Glasgow’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The Company specialises in Acute Phase Protein (APP) testing which have been shown to be valuable diagnostic and prognostic markers for infections, inflammation, neoplasia and signs of trauma and which also enable detection of sub clinical signs of illness, allowing early clinical intervention. APPs can confirm animals are free from many diseases, are in need of treatment or are responding to medication. Adoption of this approach is recommended for pet owners, veterinary surgeons, farmers and scientists.
Professor David Eckersall, scientific founder of ReactivLab, is a world-leading researcher in the area of acute phase proteins in animals and co-ordinated the European Concerted Action Group on Acute Proteins in Animals. He has specialised in this field for over 20 years and has presented the findings of his work at international scientific meetings throughout the world. He is a Professor of Veterinary Biochemistry at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow and has been responsible for many of the major advances in monitoring the APP response in domestic animals such as dogs, cats, cattle and pigs. He has also invented novel methods for analysis and discovered new applications for the diagnostic use of APPs showing the benefit of measuring the proteins in a variety of conditions including bovine mastitis and pneumonia, feline infectious peritonitis and canine leukaemia.
About Smart Awards:
SMART: SCOTLAND is a scheme run by the Scottish Government. It is intended to help businesses improve their competitiveness by developing new, highly innovative and commercially viable products or processes to the benefit of the national economy.
