Simris Biologics, a subsidiary of Simris Group, has entered into the first phase of a collaboration agreement with the University of Otago and the Ferrier Institute at Victoria University of Wellington.
Through this strategic collaboration, Simris will supply payload toxins to the two universities’ peptide drug conjugate (PDC) research programmes.
The schemes aim to control or regulate the reproductive activities of non-native mammalian pests in a mission to diminish the impact of invasive species on indigenous flora and fauna.
Simris Group CEO Dr Alexis Roberts-McIntosh commented: ”The team in Berlin are ideally placed to optimise cyanobacteria strains for the production of important PDC payloads. The first phase will evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in a controlled laboratory environment via specific in-vitro and in-vivo studies."
"If successful, a second phase of the programme will evaluate the effectiveness of a broader application in a controlled wild-environment. Simris is also well placed to support the potential commercialisation of this technology in the future.”
How PDCs could prevent biodiversity loss
Peptide drug conjugates (PDCs) are composed of 3 parts: a specific peptide carrier, a linker and a cytotoxic payload.
They are believes to be internalised into the cells responsible for the control of fertility, where they release a cytotoxic payload that subsequently induces apoptosis — impeding reproductive capacity.
This research initiative has been motivated by a rapid decline in New Zealand’s biodiversity, largely driven by introduced mammalian species including possums, rats, stoats, ferrets, rabbits and wallabies each of which have a taste for New Zealand’s plants and birdlife.
Current eradication strategies such as trapping and using poisons have many disadvantages
Current eradication strategies such as trapping and using poisons have many disadvantages including animal welfare concerns, lack of specificity, high cost and not being feasible in all locations.
This programme will aim to develop a single-application PDC bait which will selectively target only the fertility-controlling cells in the non-native mammals, locking onto a specific receptor type on these cells before releasing its cytotoxic payload.
These receptors do not exist in non-mammalian species, such as birds, rendering them safe for the native animals. By simply inactivating the reproductive system of pest animals, their spread and population growth can be controlled without the need to kill or trap or make them suffer in any way.
