DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX — October 29, 2024— BioStone Animal Health is pleased to announce that the GenScript Life Science Research Grant Program has awarded BioStone Animal Health a grant to investigate and develop DIVA diagnostics for African swine fever (ASF). GenScript Life Science Research Grant Program (www.genscript.com ), a new initiative dedicated to supporting breakthroughs in life science research areas. This program is designed to empower researchers by providing grant funding earmarked explicitly for purchasing GenScript reagents and services.
African swine fever (ASF) is a deadly transboundary disease that spreads through pigs, boars, and various fomites. When ASF is detected on a farm, the entire pig herd must be destroyed, and this has a devastating impact on the global pork industry. To date, there are three ASF vaccines at different stages of commercialization. Vaccines add incredible value to the industry and biosecurity programs worldwide, but there is a critical need to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA), also known as a DIVA test. There are no commercial ASF DIVA tests, and therefore, current ASF diagnostics could produce a false positive result. Herein, we propose to develop technology for enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) ASF DIVA tests against ASF-delta-MGF and ASF-delta-9GL/UK vaccines. Our project will employ GenScript’s peptide synthesis and protein production services to generate vaccine-specific antigens for ELISA development. We will collaborate with ASF research and diagnostics laboratories in our network to evaluate each ELISA. Our project is an important step towards providing the pork industry with ASF DIVA tests, which will impact the ability to manage disease and reduce the economic impacts of ASF.
About BioStone Animal Health — BioStone Animal Health is a Dallas, Texas-based biotechnology company that provides innovative solutions for animal health. BioStone Animal Health works together with our worldwide partners to offer a portfolio of animal disease diagnostic products as well as test kits and reagents for vaccine testing that enables performing a rapid evaluation of the efficacies, stability, consistency, and potency of common animal vaccines. By making these test kits available to the international community, BioStone strives to actively promote and participate in global animal health initiatives. For more information about BioStone Animal Health, visit www.biostoneah.com
