BELLEVILLE, Ontario – Results of a controlled challenge study with the Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.’sE. coli O157 cattle vaccine named Econiche were published in the May issue of The Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research (2011;75:98-105), a peer-reviewed scientific journal. The article’s authors summarized the study by saying it provides evidence that vaccination with Econiche is an effective pre-harvest intervention strategy against
E. coliO157.

Entitled, "Vaccination with type III secreted proteins leads to decreased shedding in calves after experimental infection withEscherichia coliO157", the article summarized a controlled challenge study conducted in early 2008 at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO)-University of Saskatchewan, which was the final study that led to the full Canadian license for Econiche from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in October, 2008.

The controlled challenge study at VIDO involved 30 placebo-treated cows and 30 vaccinated cows. The vaccinated cows each received three doses of Econiche. Both groups were then infected withE. coliO157 and fecal shedding was monitored daily for a two-week period. These data indicate that Econiche vaccination had protective effects through significant reductions in both the number of animals shedding and the number of challenge organisms shed per animal.

Econiche will be manufactured in the company's newly completed Animal Health and Food Safety Vaccine Manufacturing Centre in Belleville, Ontario, currently undergoing validation and commissioning. Full production in the new center is expected to begin by the fall of 2011.