Biologics

Koi Herpes Vaccine
 

Koi herpes virus (KHV) is a recently discovered virus that infects the ornamental fish Koi carp. It was discovered in 1998 in fish in Israel, and it has now become a global problem for both fish breeders and hobbyists. KHV is a serious disease that can kill between 90% and 95% of fish in an infected pond and has the potential to wipe out entire fish farms. It is a virus that is temperature sensitive and is mainly active in warm weather conditions. The infection may be “latent” in a fish i.e. the fish may be a carrier of the disease. Although the fish itself would appear well, when the water temperature rises, the virus is able to grow, and this, initially symptom free fish, may then act as the source of an outbreak which could destroy an entire pond of farm.]. There is currently no available treatment or vaccine in the EU.

Koi Carp

As the Koi Carp is from the same family as common carp, this can pose a major threat as it is estimated that 1.5 million tonnes of common carp are farmed within the EU each year. The common carp is also the most farmed fish in Eastern Europe.

KHV has become a global problem. It has now been recorded in at least 20 countries and has recently become a World Organisation of Animal Health notifiable disease and it is likely that the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural affairs in the UK will adopt KHV’s status as a notifiable disease in the UK in the near future.

 

KHV immunology assay

The Company’s research into the KHV vaccine is focussed on demonstrating the immunogenicity of the vaccine candidate as well as test its prophylactic properties against live virus challenges. Likewise, important immunological tests have been developed to enable the more detailed study of fish immune responses to this virus. The vaccine candidate uses a proprietary technology, containing KHV antigens. The vaccine does not however contain any live virus, so does not pose any threat to the vaccinated fish. The Company is continuing to develop a vaccine against KHV alongside two opinion leaders in the fish pathology market, with a vaccine already having been manufactured for pilot studies. Clinical trials took place in Idaho (the largest fish farming region in North America) in late 2006 with a view to entering into a potential licensing agreement in 2007. The market for a successful vaccine is considerable as there is currently no available license in the EU.

It estimates that there are approximately 3.5 million households in the UK and 10-12 million owners in the USA who keep ornamental fish and that the market is a high value one. The Company also believes that there could be high demand for the KHV vaccine in Japan.

In addition to the domestic market, there may be high demand for the KHV vaccine in the commercial market, due to the virus’ potentially damaging effect on fish farms and the fact that the common carp is the most farmed fish in Eastern Europe.