How can we sustainably prevent diarrhea in piglets? This question will be answered by Bactolife™, in collaboration with Novozymes, the Technical University of Denmark, SEGES (Danish Agriculture & Food) and Aarhus University. Research efforts will take place within the framework of the Ablacto+ project. The project recently received a grant of 11 million DKK to continue the efforts to develop a bio-based product for the commercial market, Ablacto+.
“Ablacto+ contains special proteins, nanobodies, which are able to bind and neutralize the Escherichia coli bacteria that cause diarrhea in piglets. The nanobodies are derived from antibodies found in llamas. Llamas and other animals from the Camelidae family produce antibodies, the binding site of which has special characteristics: They are more stable and more compact than similar proteins. They do not interact with other substances or processes in the body, and they do not induce resistance. It seems obvious to use these for our purpose,” noted Sandra Wingaard Thrane, Ablacto+ project leader and Bactolife™ co-founder.
Ablacto+ is under development, and — by means of a grant from Innovation Fund Denmark in the form of an Innobooster project — preliminary experiments have been accomplished in laboratories and experimental facilities at the Aarhus facilities in Foulum. The next step will be to test the product in production herds and, subsequently, to develop the product further in order to be able to produce it at a competitive price and to make it ready for the market by ensuring the necessary approvals.
