New vaccines for livestock diseases
The EC-funded BLUETONGUE VACCINATION project focused on the pathogenic Bluetongue virus (BTV), affecting European livestock. As it stands, the EU's BTV vaccination strategy appears fragmented and often ineffective. The project aimed to initially assess existing vaccines against BTV and map the status quo in BTV disease onset. As a subsequent step the project set out to develop new methodologies as well as vaccine approaches. Part of the project's aims was the investigation of innovative new delivery modes and carrier systems. The efficiency of various materials to induce adequate immune responses was evaluated as part of developing new vaccine products against BTV. The School of Pharmacy of London University was involved in a variety of drug delivery aspects of the project. Researchers showed that oligodeoxy nucleotides of specific compositions and in specific combinations could indeed result in the induction of mixed-type immune responses to recombinant virus like particles. The use of specific adjuvant such as Freud's complete adjuvant also resulted in increased immune responses. The positive results imply further potential for growth for this line of research.
