Anadis seals Tartura milk partnership

Melbourne biopharma Anadis (ASX:ANX) has signed an agreement with its long-time collaborator Tatura Milk Industries (TMI) that will secure its supply of antibody-rich colostrum from cows vaccinated with its patented vaccines.

The new agreement gives Anadis first call on all colostrum from TMIs’ large herd of hyperimmunised dairy cows, and to the company’s large-scale facilities for extracting and freeze-drying colostrums antibodies.

It also formally makes Anadis a party to the Anadis-Tatura Innovation Engine Room, a research committee established to identify new products for the Australian and overseas markets.

The agreement comes on the eve of the commercial launch of Anadis’ first human healthcare product, its traveller’s diarrhoea preventative Travelan, which is manufactured at TMI.

Anadis will launch Travelan early in July. It is made from colostrum from cows hyperimmunised against 14 strains of E. coli bacteria found in water supplies around the world. The product provides passive immunity to traveller’s diarrhoea.

TMI, a cooperative based in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley, is the state’s second largest dairy company. It processes about half a billion litres of milk annually from 400 dairy farms in the region, to produce value-added products including cream cheese, infant formula, specialised powders, dairy proteins and bio-active compounds.

Another Anadis product under development is Pyloran, which has been shown to reduce gastritis and gastric ulcers caused by chronic Helicobacter infection of the stomach.

The Taiwanese government is also funding an Anadis research project to develop EV71, to protect young children at risk of hand, food and mouth disease, an emerging, polio-like infection caused by Enterovirus 71.