ECO Animal Health Group PLC - Surrey-based pet and livestock pharmaceuticals - Says its subsidiary ECO Animal Health Ltd has entered into a research partnership with Robin Shattock at Imperial College London to assess saRNA technology. ECO says the collaboration will be the delivery of vaccine antigens and biologics to pigs against three important infectious disease targets.

saRNA is a new platform for the development of medicines and vaccines which uses similar technology to mRNA but with the added ability to self-amplify, thus expressing proteins for a longer time period, resulting in higher protein levels per dose. The diseases targeted with this technology are among the most economically damaging to the swine industry, which amounts to nearly 800 million pigs worldwide and represents 36% of total meat consumption.

Shattock says: ‘saRNA technology has very significant potential in animal health as it can be delivered in much lower doses than is currently possible and hence represents the next generation of RNA delivered medicines.’

Current stock price: up 2.1% at 122.49 pence each on Wednesday in London.

12-month change: down 68%

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.