Experimental vaccine development

Prevention is always preferable to treatment and this also applies to aquaculture. The use of antibiotics is not a sustainable solution especially considering the development of bacterial resistance against antimicrobials, which constitutes one of the biggest threats for humanity. Vaccination is the ideal solution for the protection of fish populations; however the development of novel vaccines is a process that is very expensive and time-consuming. More importantly, as the aquaculture industry diversifies with new species, which results in fragmentation of the market, the pharmaceutical industry is very reluctant to invest in the development of new vaccines. The solution could be provided with the use of autogenous vaccines, which are custom-made vaccines that can be developed and used with specific restrictions if there are no registered vaccines commercially available.

The development of autogenous vaccines, or novel vaccines is conducted in collaboration with Aquatic Biologicals (www.aquatic –biologicals.com), a HCMR spin-off company. Vaccination programmes are designed together with the fish farms and customized studies are then implemented. Vaccination trials can be undertaken by HCMR. For more information and queries contact Dr. Pantelis Katharios (katharios@hcmr.gr).

International and national aqucuaculture companies