Ventria Bioscience
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Ventria Bioscience is a biotech company headquartered in Sacramento, CA with a focus on human nutrition and human therapeutics. The company's core technology is a plant-based protein production system called ExpressTec. Ventria's product pipeline is based on recombinant lactoferrin and lysozyme for use in medical foods, bioprocessing, cell culture and as a topical anti-infective. These proteins show promise as a supplement to oral rehydration therapy and to treat C.difficile infection because they inhibit C.difficile, but promote the growth of healthy gut flora. Ventria invites other researchers to have access to its recombinant human lactoferrin and recombinant human lysozyme through a program called BioShare.
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[edit] Regulatory Advantages
ExpressTec uses self-pollinating crops such as rice and barley to minimize the risk of gene flow normally associated with transgenic plants. Plant-produced proteins also offer advantages for cell culture and bioprocessing use because they replace animal derived components, which have become unpopular due to concerns about prion contamination. The use of food crops also allows for slightly less stringent purity standards when the product is processed for oral consumption. Furthermore, versions of both lactoferrin and lysozyme derived from milk and egg white respectively, have been acknowledged by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as being "Generally Regarded As Safe" (GRAS). An extensive scientific review is required, but for products granted this status, no clinical trials are required for oral administration. As of April 2006, FDA has not yet responded to Ventria's GRAS notification for lactoferrin which was submitted in 2004, and a notification for lysozyme was submitted earlier this year.
[edit] News
In November 2004 Ventria entered into an agreement with Northwest Missouri State University to create a facility near the university and to relocate its operations, research and production to the state. Shortly thereafter Ventria added Northwest alumnus Melvin D. Booth, former president of MedImmune and university president Dr.Dean L. Hubbard to its board of directors. Hubbard receives no compensation for his service on the board of directors.
On April 12, 2005 Anheuser-Busch, the number one buyer of rice in the United States said it would not purchase rice grown in Missouri if genetically modified rice were to be grown in the state. This decision was prompted by Ventria's intent to grow 200 acres (800,000 m²) of genetically it's protein producing rice in southeast Missouri. A compromise was brokered by Governor Matt Blunt (R-MO) and Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) which would have allowed Ventria to grow its rice with a buffer zone of 120 miles from other Missouri rice crops. Anheuser-Busch and Ventria both agreed to this proposal, but in December 2005 Ventria withdrew from the agreement with Northwest due in part to a dramatic reduction in the amount of financial support offered by the state government. Ventria has previously planted in California, Iowa, and North Carolina, and has been approved by USDA-APHIS to plant in North Carolina again in 2006.
