US Biologic, an oral vaccine and therapeutic delivery company based in Memphis, Tennessee, has received a new patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. On May 20, 2020, the company announced U.S. Patent #1065360, titled Composition & Method for Reducing Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. It extends OrisBio, the company’s oral-delivery technology platform, to the creation of vaccines given by mouth.
The new patent builds on an earlier one rather than standing alone. U.S. Patent #8821893, Oral Vaccine for Borrelia, covers Lyme disease. It underpins the company’s oral Lyme vaccine for wildlife, which is going through USDA licensure before it can be sold. While the Lyme patent targets a single disease, the new one opens the platform to several vaccines against zoonotic diseases.
Dr. Steve Zatechka, PhD, MBA, is the company’s Chief Operating Officer and the main inventor behind the patent. He explained that zoonotic diseases are all diseases that pass from animals to people. The patent, he said, covers a broad range of preventive measures.
The stakes are large. According to the CDC, scientists estimate that over 6 in 10 known human infectious diseases come from animals. So do 3 in 4 new or emerging ones. The World Health Organization estimates that zoonotic diseases kill about 2.7 million people worldwide every year.
CEO Mason Kauffman said the patent widens OrisBio, since it shows both skill in oral delivery and a commitment to stopping zoonotic disease. He added that US Biologic will keep filing for and winning patents in this field to extend its impact on disease prevention around the world. The company also has other applications pending in the U.S., Canada, China and the European Union.
US Biologic uses the motto Delivers Disease Prevention. Thanks to its proprietary oral-delivery system, preventive vaccines and antimicrobials reach wildlife, pets and food animals safely and at low cost. The company teams up with leading experts and puts their proven technologies into its delivery system. Then it brings the products to market, supplying funding, regulatory support, manufacturing and distribution. Its board includes people who have served as a CDC director, as CEO of Sanofi Pasteur and as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
