KANANASKIS, Alta. – A revolutionary approach to treat disease could be found in the yolk of an egg.
A British Columbia based company has patented a method to extract immunity boosting antibodies from egg yolk to fight a number of diseases. Those antibodies would reduce the widespread use of antibiotic drugs in human and animal medicine where resistant bacteria are becoming a health problem.
“Over 50 percent of antibiotics are fed to healthy animals,” said IRI Separation Technology chief executive officer John Mason, who spoke at the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency meeting in Kananaskis July 9.
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The product is immunoglobulin and the company plans to build a commercial supply of 1,000 kilogram per month and introduce the product to health food stores by September.
An injector, pill, inhaler or lotion could deliver the product.
“Seventy-five percent of your immune antibodies are lining your intestines and that is considered the first line of defence,” Mason said.
Treatments are being researched for E. coli, acne, mouth infections in those undergoing chemotherapy and some intestinal infections often found in children.
If the company manufactures 1,000 kg of product per month, it would require the eggs produced from 350,000 layers. There are several Alberta producers already supplying the company.
The process starts by exposing the birds to a disease via a vaccine or in the air, water or feed. The hens produce antibodies specific to that threat.
About one percent of the yolk contains these components,
although the company hopes research could increase that by another percentage point.
The resulting byproduct is 39,200 kg of dried yolk. It can be turned into dried or liquid egg product that can be used in things like mayonnaise or baked goods.
The company has been working on an extraction process since 2001 using whey and eggs.
Specific immunoglobulin can be extracted easily from eggs, since it is easier and more economical to inoculate a flock of chickens than a herd of cattle. Also, chickens lay eggs regularly, so there is a continual source of antibody.
Last year the company acquired a majority interest in Simplimix Foods, a supplier of dried egg and pancake batters to restaurants. Simplimix buys the egg yolk pellets after the antibodies are removed.
The company also bought the Alberta Group, three companies that produce, extract and process immunoglobulin from chicken eggs: Vanderpol Egg Products, an Alberta egg breaking facility; Isotech Research, a protein separation facility that can extract antibodies from egg yolks and Immune Biotech, a vaccine producer concentrating on developing antibody-specific immunoglobulin for most virus and bacteria related health issues.
All three companies have their own facilities to produce immunoglobulin.
