Anifera awarded seed funding for research from UK’s Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL)
Modern farm cowshed with milking cows eating hay. Close-up on the udder of cows. Milk industry concept.
London, UK, 14 September 2021 – Anifera, a company focused on developing adjunct therapy to improve the efficacy of antibiotics used in animal health, today announced that it has received seed funding from CIEL, the UK’s livestock innovation centre to help investigate the effectiveness of its leading compound as an adjunct therapy in bovine mastitis. Mastitis refers to the inflammation of the mammary gland and udder tissue, which can damage milk-secreting tissues in affected cows. Rising prevalence globally and increasing pressure to limit the use of new-generation antibiotics has created the need for alternative approaches, including repurposing older and less effective antibiotics for use in livestock. The objective of the study is to evaluate the ability of their leading compound to enhance antibiotic treatment for Staphylococcus aureus in bovine mastitis, a significant economic and animal welfare issue for global dairy farmers. Staphylococcus aureus is recognized worldwide to be one of the most prevalent pathogens causing intramammary infections in dairy cows1, displaying varied disease presentation and markedly low cure rates2. Anifera will work with the Moredun Research Institute (MRI) in Midlothian, Scotland, which conducts world class scientific research to improve livestock health and welfare through the prevention and control of infectious disease. Results will be used to confirm efficacy already observed in a previous small-scale study and to further explore options for commercialisation of their leading compound to treat bovine mastitis. Dr Tony Benitz, a member of Anifera’s Board, said: “The project backed by CIEL, thanks to the support of Innovate UK, will greatly assist in determining the benefit that our leading compound can bring to veterinarians and dairy farmers in terms of direct reduction of mastitis and related costs. It will also help us to establish the potential of our leading compound to enable the repurposing of older antibiotics, which may no longer be considered sufficiently effective.” Dr Gwynneth Thomas, CEO of Anifera, commented: “The need to find innovative ways to increase the efficacy of currently-used antibiotics is becoming much more critical, with significant pressure to reduce or discontinue the use of many newer first-line therapies. We are grateful to CIEL and MRI for supporting this important study, which will allow us to move our leading compound closer to commercialisation as a more sustainable option for farmers, ultimately improving yields and quality and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use.” |
