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The Board of Henderson Morley Plc, the AIM quoted biotechnology company, is pleased to announce a co-development agreement with UK Glass Eels Ltd, (“UK Glass Eels”) to produce a vaccine against Eel Herpes.
Under this agreement, a vaccine will be supplied to UK Glass Eels on a commercial basis, and UK Glass Eels will have non exclusive rights to distribute the vaccine on a worldwide basis.
The vaccine is already in advanced stages of development. It will be administered to eels whilst at the glass eel phase of their life-cycle. It is expected that first revenues from this partnership will be received during 2009.
Eel farming in the EU has suffered considerable stock losses due to a recently identified virus, Herpes Virus Anguilarum (Eel herpes virus). UK Glass Eels is one of Europe’s largest suppliers of glass eels for the re-stocking of eel farms, supplying almost one third of the EU market.
The co-development is as a direct result of Henderson Morley’s expertise regarding other herpes virus infections in fish, as much of the technology and expertise applied in the other projects is applicable to the development of this vaccine.
Proprietor of UK Glass Eels, Peter Wood FRCVS stated “We are very pleased to be collaborating on this project. The impact that Eel herpes virus has been making on the eel farming community is significant, with many farmers suffering considerable financial losses as a consequence. An effective vaccine for the prevention of this infection could offer a significant commercial benefit to the eel industry.”
Chairman Andrew Knight commented “UK Glass Eels is the European leader in the supply of fish to the eel farming industry. We are very pleased to be partners in this co-development especially as we expect it to be revenue generating in 2009.”
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