Content of research

Research objective: Development of veterinary antibody drugs and protein drugs targeting PD-1 and other immunosuppressive factors and their application to therapeutics. Comparison with and advantage over conventional technology: This approach does not target a specific disease, but rather a wide range of diseases in which the anti-pathogen and anti-tumor effects are lost due to immunosuppressive mechanisms. Since the immunotherapy is based on activated lymphocytes, it is expected to have a multifunctional immune-enhancing effect. Uniqueness of the research: There are limited reports of clinical applications of this approach in the veterinary fields. Characteristics: We will establish therapeutic antibodies for animals and evaluate their effectiveness against various diseases. Efficacy: We aim to provide new treatments for diseases of livestock (cattle, horses, pigs, etc.) and companion animals (dogs, cats, etc.) for which there are no effective vaccines or treatments.

Potential for social implementation

• ・Immunological studies of animals (various antibodies)
• ・Detection of tumor markers (PD-L1, etc.)
• ・Antibody drugs
• Immunopotentiating agent (protein preparation)

Appealing points to industry and local governments

There are many animal diseases for which there are still no preventive or curative methods, and it is not easy to establish methods to control these diseases. Nonetheless, we are working to develop vaccines and therapeutic agents to protect animals against the threat of disease. We believe that positive results obtained from applied research on livestock health will lead to securing of food resources. This will also contribute to realizing better medical care for companion animals, which have become increasingly important in recent years.