Canada Invests in Science to Manage Swine Disease

June 14, 2019

Canada has some of the world's best scientists, and the breakthrough technologies they develop give companies the tools they need to better manage their businesses, while growing them and creating good middle class jobs.

Today, Lloyd Longfield, the Member of Parliament for Guelph announced an investment of $108,753.00 under the AgriScience Program to PlantForm Corporation.

This investment will help PlantForm Corporation to addresses the need for an economical and effective vaccine for the prevention of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv) infection in piglets. The vaccine is in the form of Virus-Like Particles (VLP’s) which are known to be highly effective compared to conventional subunit vaccines. The VLP’s are produced in plants and formatted for oral delivery. If PlantForm is successful in creating this vaccine, the project will provide Canadian pork producers with a valuable tool to mitigate PEDv outbreaks, and will create jobs and increase the safety and sustainability of the pork sector.

This investment builds on the work the federal Government is doing in close collaboration with pork sector partners to prevent disease outbreak within this important export sector and within Canada. Measures to increase animal health are helping to protect the livelihoods of thousands of pork farmers across Canada.

Quotes:

“It is important to see the Government of Canada collaborating with leading research in Guelph to advance animal health and wellness within the pork sector, which is an important supplier of protein in Canada and in export markets. Plantform continues to develop leading research connecting plant based solutions to human and animal health.”

-Lloyd Longfield , Guelph

“We look forward to working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to prevent the spread of PEDv in Canada and to helping the global swine industry address this critical animal health and welfare issue. This is an exciting opportunity to further demonstrate the capabilities of our versatile vivoXPRESS® biopharmaceutical manufacturing platform by providing effective low-cost vaccines for the farm animal health-care market.”

-CEO Don Stewart, PlantForm Corporation

Quick facts

  • PlantForm Corporation a privately-held Canadian biopharmaceutical company based in Guelph.
  • Porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is a viral disease of pigs. The disease causes diarrhea and vomiting in pigs. It can be very serious and can kill younger pigs in herds that have not previously been exposed to the virus.
  • PED does not pose a risk to human health or food safety. PED only affects pigs and does not pose a risk to other animals. The first case of PED in Canada was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in January 2014, on a swine farm in Ontario. Since then, PED has also been reported in Manitoba, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.
  • The Government of Canada has a strong commitment to science and an ambitious agenda for the agriculture sector to help create good jobs and growing the middle class.
  • Transformational federal investments of $100 million in agricultural science has allowed the Government to hire the next generation of 75 new scientists.

Associated links

Contacts

MP OFFICE

519-837-8276

Lloyd.Longfield@parl.gc.ca

40 Cork Street East

Guelph, Ontario, N1H 2W8

PlantForm Corporation

200-1920 Yonge St,

Toronto ON M4S 3E2

don.stewart@plantformcorp.com
416.572.7795