UCD student team has fast-track way to make vaccine
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 1, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 7B
An award-winning venture by a UC Davis student team could turn a public health pariah into a potential hero, using tobacco plants to develop vaccines in weeks instead of months.
The team, Inserogen, won the $15,000 grand prize at the Big Bang business plan competition at the University of California, Davis, with its proposal to produce vaccines at a fraction of the cost – and time – of conventional methods.
The UC Davis team, which dubbed its product SwiftVax, hopes to capitalize on a global vaccine market it pegs at more than $30 billion and growing.
Members envision opening new markets for veterinary and human vaccines with the less costly, more flexible technology.
Their first target is Newcastle disease, a contagious viral disease that decreases egg production in poultry and can cause flu-like some symptoms in humans.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/01/2788930/ucd-student-team-has-fast-track.html#mi_rss=Education#ixzz0pcUBTgJM