| Nematode Project |
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The Company’s collaboration with researchers at the Universities of Melbourne and Newcastle to discover new classes of chemicals for the treatment of nematodes (worms) in livestock has progressed during the year. The project is supported by a grant from Meat & Livestock Australia who is actively participating in the project. In the first phase of the project, genetic techniques were used to identify proteins essential for the survival of the nematodes. Several such targets were prioritised and their DNA sequences have been compared with that of humans and sheep. The logic behind this approach is that the protein targets in the parasites that have the least similarity with man or the host will be safer and less environmentally dangerous. Several compounds have now been successfully synthesised as part of the project and a number of pharmaceutical companies active in the field of animal health have been approached to determine their interest in this project. |
