Biopharma company says its product has potential to become the first treatment to avoid milk withdrawal period

Bovine mastitis is a costly problem for dairy farmers all over the world. The milk from cows with the infection cannot be sold and Prof Vincent O’Flaherty from NUI Galway estimates the losses associated with the condition at approximately €3 billion per annum between Europe and the US.

He also says that anyone who comes up with a smart solution to the problem is tapping on the door of a treatment market worth around €1.48 billion a year.

O’Flaherty believes that his Galway-based fledgling biopharma company, Westway Health, has done just that. The company has developed PanaMast, which he describes as “a disruptive product for the treatment of mastitis in lactating cows”. A second product for the treatment of dry cows is on the way.

Successful small-scale clinical field trials have already taken place in Ireland and Germany, and a final formulation has now been established for the product which is also suitable for use on antibiotic-free and organic farms.

“PanaMast has the potential to become the world’s first treatment for mastitis with a zero milk withdrawal period meaning farmers can sell milk during and following treatment. This is a paradigm shift in mastitis management,” says O’Flaherty.

Conventional antibiotics

Mastitis is one of the most economically significant diseases affecting the dairy industry today. A study by Teagasc in 2012 showed that mild cases of the disease could reduce milk yields by approximately 351 litres per year. This rises to 601 litres in more severe cases and represents a loss per cow of between €110 and €190.

The second major impact of the disease is on milk quality and milk processors around the world are now offering more for high quality, low somatic cell count milk and less for lower quality, high somatic cell count milk. The somatic cell count is used as the primary indicator of milk quality. In Ireland, farmers are penalised if the cell count crosses a certain threshold.

“Conventional antibiotics are currently used to treat mastitis, but this is an unsatisfactory solution with poor treatment outcomes leading to the culling of cows and lost milk revenues,” O’Flaherty says.

“PanaMast is based on a naturally occurring antimicrobial system. In laboratory tests and in the animal trials carried out to date it has been shown to be extremely effective in eliminating the bacterial causative agents of mastitis.

“In particular, it has been proven to provide a cure for cows with serious infections for which all conventional antibiotic treatments have failed. Collectively, mastitis will cost a farmer on average €285 per case.”

O’Flaherty says current antibiotic treatments become even less effective as the animal ages. When this happens more expensive drugs have to be administered necessitating a longer milk withdrawal period.

“The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a globally significant problem in human and veterinary health. This occurs when bacteria are treated with suboptimal concentrations of an antibiotic and resistance is built up,” he says.

“This concern is starting to result in pressure from policymakers to reduce antibiotic usage in the veterinary world as it is thought that overuse of antibiotics in a farmyard setting may be a contributor to the spread of antibiotic resistance in humans via the food chain.”

Patent protection

One of the problems facing those involved in developing treatments is that bacteria can be “trained” to counteract the effects of antibiotics within a very short space of time.

However, O’Flaherty says this has not happened with PanaMast. In all of the tests the bacteria remained sensitive under the same conditions.

“This is essential as many of the mastitis causing strains already have mechanisms to aid their survival against commonly used antibiotic therapies,” says O’Flaherty.

Westway Health was set up in 2012 to commercialise the antimicrobial technology behind PanaMast developed by O’Flaherty at NUI Galway.

The company, which expects to create five high calibre RD jobs this year, has received funding to date in the region of €250,000 from Enterprise Ireland’s commercialisation and competitive feasibility funds to develop the product.

Patent protection is pending for its technology which has taken six years to develop and has to go through rigorous certification procedures before its full commercial launch.

In the interim, the company will live off earnings generated by other products it has developed using its expertise in biofilms to fight infection.

For example wound washes and nasal rinses for the general veterinary market. The company is currently looking for investment to support its next phase of development.