• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Test For Food Safety.......... Paramount

Mike

Well-known member
PRION DEVELOPMENTAL LABORATORIES INC. (PDL)

Company Overview
Prion Developmental Laboratories Inc., is a privately held biotechnology company specializing in the development of rapid and inexpensive diagnostics to detect Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSE's) such as Mad Cow Disease in cattle and Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk.

PDL has received United States Department of Agriculture approval for its Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) strip test. CWD is similar to Mad Cow Disease but affects deer and elk. The risk of transmission to humans and agriculturally important livestock animals such as cattle is unknown at this time but is cause for serious concern. The simple, inexpensive test would be practical for use at field testing stations as well as in laboratories.

The US Patent and Trademark Office recently issued a first action notice to PDL for proprietary buffer formulations allowing four separate claims regarding the strip test. This will aid in protecting PDL's position as the first 'truly rapid, hand-held' test, taking less than one hour, for point of use testing of prion diseases.

Prion diseases are a family of fatal neurodegenerative diseases that are caused by a prion, an "infectious proteinaceous particle". Prion diseases have become a major health concern since the outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "Mad Cow Disease." BSE was first discovered in the United Kingdom but has now spread around the world. BSE is believed to be transmitted among cattle through feed that contains protein rendered from infected cattle and it is thought to be transmitted to humans through eating beef or beef products from infected cattle. In humans, the prion infection results in a neurological disorder known as new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (nvCJD). Both Mad Cow Disease and nvCJD cause the brain to become spongy and are always fatal.

Very little is known about Prion diseases. They are difficult to diagnose and the only diagnostic tests currently available for BSE are based on laboratory analysis of post-mortem brain samples from cattle, a procedure that is relatively slow and expensive. As a result, tests in the US are usually only conducted on cattle suspected of being infected or those in a high risk group.

The PDL rapid strip test for detecting TSE's is similar to a home pregnancy test, which would be used on-site using brain tissue taking less than an hour to complete with accurate, easily interpreted results. Currently, there are no simple tests available to detect prion diseases. There is an urgent need for a more rapid and sensitive diagnostic test that would be feasible to use on every animal at the slaughterhouse to ensure that no BSE infected cattle enter the food chain at any level. These prion tests are designed to detect TSE's before symptoms appear in animals, with the objective of ensuring that infected meat or by-products are not consumed by anyone or anything.

The main international markets for PDL prion diagnostic tests are the cattle industry and ultimately the human blood products industry. The financial losses as a result of the BSE outbreak in the United Kingdom were estimated to be in excess of $2.5 billion in 1998. Mad Cow Disease has now become a major concern in North America after the discovery of three infected cows in Canada and one in the United States last year. The impact of these findings is costing the North American cattle industry millions of dollars daily due to the ban imposed by dozens of countries on the importation of North American beef. The ultimate size of the world market for a post-mortem test is nearly 120 million head of cattle per year.
PDL scientists have been working with researchers at the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge in the UK to present the PDL BSE strip test for examination. "Weybridge" as it is known worldwide, first opened in 1917 and is well respected for its veterinary research. The laboratory has conducted extensive research on BSE and instituted a program to specifically investigate the clinical signs, diagnostic methods, pathology, pathogenesis and epidemiology of BSE and the transmission characteristics of the BSE agent in farm animals. Further field testing of the PDL test is expected to be conducted in early 2005.

Management Team
PDL has compiled a team of world-renowned scientists and experienced management personnel dedicated to the development of a diagnostic assay for prion diseases. The key personnel include:

* Dr. Robert B. Petersen, Chief Executive Officer
* Dr. Richard Rubenstein, The Institute for Basic Research
* Dr. Richard J. Kascsak, The Institute for Basic Research

Among the research scientists on the product development team are:

* Dr. Man-Sun Sy, Director, Case Western Reserve University
* Dr. Pierluigi Gambetti, Case Western Reserve University

CORPORATE STRUCTURE
Founded in 1999, PDL is a privately held company incorporated in Maryland , with head offices and a manufacturing facility located in Buffalo Grove , Illinois . Pursuant to an Investment Agreement dated September 8, 2000 with PDL, the Company invested a total of $2.0 million in PDL which provided Genesis Bioventures with a 25% equity ownership in this company. On August 22, 2001, Genesis Bioventures exercised a right of first refusal to invest additional funds in PDL, through a warrant to purchase an additional one million shares of PDL common stock for $400,000, increasing Genesis Bioventures' equity interest in PDL to 33%.

GBI has signed exclusive worldwide sales, marketing and distribution agreements with Prion Developmental Laboratories Inc. (PDL) to commercialize the recently patented Rapid Prion-Detection Assay tests developed by PDL.
Prion Developmental Laboratories, Inc.
900 Asbury Drive
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
USA 60089

Website: www.prionlabs.com
 
Top