Author:
Andrew Padula
Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia

Date of Publication:
November, 2013

Publication:
Australian Government Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC)
(Now called AgriFutures Australia)

Overview:
This project explored the production of therapeutic alpaca immunoglobulin products, as an alternative use of alpaca to fibre or meat production. A research herd of alpaca was hyperimmunised with various snake venoms, the immune response monitored and serum harvested for various purposes at different time periods. These results show that alpaca can be used for antivenom production as well as making antibodies for diagnostic tests. However, some barriers exist to full scale commercial production of antivenom using alpaca, including development of more effective antibody extraction methods. The field is open for commercialisation as the patent landscape search revealed no obstructions in Australia.

This work is a continuation of research undertaken as part of a previous RIRDC project Alpaca Immunoglobulins.

Read the rest of the article: http://www.agrifutures.com.au/publications/alpaca-immunoglobulins-phase-2/