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Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2007 Miller Publishing Company, Inc.
BIOPHAGE Pharma Inc. reported that it has signed a groundbreaking contract with Alberta Agriculture & Food to conduct a pilot study for the large-scale production and purification of bacteriophage preparations in a biofermentor.
Securing this contract marks the beginning of a new business opportunity for Biophage in large-scale production of phage preparations. This is highly opportune as phages have been ruled to be safe for use as food additives.
Biophage has seen a renewed interest in phage therapy since the first groundbreaking announcement by the Food & Drug Administration (August 2006) regarding the safe use of a phage preparation made of six phages against Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.
Dr. Rosemonde Mandeville, Biophage president and chief executive officer, said, "We are very pleased to announce Biophage's first contract for the large-scale production of phages in a biofermentor. This new business opportunity is expected to generate a continuous stream of revenues in the coming years.
"Since FDA's approval of applying phages as food additives, we received numerous inquiries from producers who understand the commercial potential of this innovative, safe and environment-friendly solution for the control of bacterial contaminations," she continued.
Mandeville added, "Biophage is continuously seeking strategic partnerships for the co-development, out-licensing and commercialization of its phage-based proprietary approach for the detection, prevention and control of deadly microorganisms."
