February 8, 2016, Guelph, Ont.— PlantForm Corporation has received a Government of Canada contract for the plant-based production of an antibody being studied by Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) as an antidote to ricin exposure.
The contract, valued at $135,000, is for delivery of 2 grams of an anti-ricin antibody, known as hD9, produced using PlantForm’s vivoXPRESS® biopharmaceutical platform.
Ricin is highly toxic and considered a bioterrorism risk for the public as no therapeutic antibody or vaccine is currently available to counteract its deadly effects. The hD9 antibody drug candidate developed by DRDC prevents ricin from penetrating cells.
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