As Prionics celebrates its 10th anniversary of operations, we talked with Dr. Bruno Oesch, Chairman of the Board of Prionics, about the company's scientific roots, the prospects in R&D and the recent changes to the company's management structure
You founded Prionics together with Dr. Markus Moser ten years ago. Where does the company stand today?
Bruno Oesch: Prionics has gained an excellent reputation by offering key expertise in the detection of BSE and other prion diseases. Beyond that, we have over the years expanded our focus and have developed effective diagnostics for a range of major farm animal diseases. Today, Prionics has a solid global presence and can now offer its customers a wide portfolio of diagnostic solutions encompassing the major animal disease areas. Quite frankly, the achievements of our company are reflected in the fact that Prionics now ranks among the top three global players in the field of farm animal diagnostics.
What is your vision for Prionics in the future?
Bruno Oesch: I am confident that Prionics will continue to prosper in the future. With the aim to serve our customers in the best possible way, we offer state-of-the-art diagnostic solutions with a comprehensive set of company owned and developed test kits. We are proud of the fact that we can be a "one-stop provider" to our customers around the world. However, our efforts don't stop here. Our dedicated team continues to work on new diagnostic solutions for existing and emerging disease areas. New areas of research are currently being carried out and we are developing new diagnostic products in response to market needs.
Prionics is undergoing structural changes to its operations. One major change has been that of you stepping down as Co-CEO and Head of R&D of Prionics. What can you tell us about this change?
Bruno Oesch: The decision to make adjustments at the management level aims at further improving our Corporate Governance by strictly dividing the responsibilities of the Executive Management and the Board. Whereas Dr. Markus Moser will act as the sole CEO and concentrate his efforts on operational aspects, I will dedicate my full attention to the strategic development of the company by serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The separation of operational management from strategic management is an important step towards ensuring that our company remains successful and grows in the future.
Will this change have an impact on the R&D focus of Prionics?
Bruno Oesch: During the first decade of Prionics, science has been a crucial foundation to our success and this was also valued by our costumers. We therefore will continue to develop diagnostics with our in-house R&D competencies in Zurich and Lelystad and through our links with leading research institutes around the world such as the Animal Science Group of the Wageningen University Research Centre in the Netherlands, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VLA) in the UK and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Ames, Iowa.
So, innovation is a pillar-stone of the company's success?
Bruno Oesch: At Prionics we not only provide the diagnostic products, but we know the science behind them. This advantage enables us to create innovative and unconventional diagnostic solutions for the control of health threatening and economically damaging infectious diseases in farm animals. I believe that this is the key factor to being a world leader in farm animal diagnostics.
Which R&D projects is Prionics currently working on?
Bruno Oesch: An area of focus for our R&D team is to develop a live test for the detection of prion disease in human blood. In order to prevent a potential spread of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) through blood donations or blood products, there is a need for a blood test. To this end, we are working on a blood test with our proprietary monoclonal antibody 15B3, which recognizes the disease causing prion protein, PrPSc, but not its normal counterpart.
Another important step forward in our product line of TSE diagnostics was accomplished earlier this year with the development of a strip test for small ruminants; the Prionics®-Check PrioSTRIP SR. Like that of the original version, the PrioSTRIP® SR is a sophisticated, yet incredibly simple test to use. The PrioSTRIP® SR has been extensively validated internally and has shown to recognize classical and atypical scrapie in sheep and goats with 100% specificity and sensitivity.
And beyond the TSE area?
Bruno Oesch: The integration of the Dutch Cedi Diagnostics into Prionics has also diversified our product portfolio dramatically. We now own the best tests for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and other important animal diseases such as Classical Swine Fever or Aujeszky's disease. We are progressing well in developing enhanced diagnostic tools for the eradication of Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) in combination with TypiFixTM, the diagnostic ear tag. Mycobacterial diseases such as Paratuberculosis (ParaTB) and Bovine Tuberculosis are also on the top of our diagnostic list. ParaTB with its potential link to Crohn's disease in humans, as well as the continued presence of Bovine Tuberculosis in many European countries, need effective diagnostic solutions i.e. simple, cost-effective tests which enable the control or eradication of these diseases. I am particularly excited about the continued development of our product for the detection of Bovine Tuberculosis. The BOVIGAM® gamma interferon test has been recently named the test of choice by the Spanish and the UK governments in their intensified Bovine Tuberculosis testing regime. Also, Prionics is currently working with the VLA, UK, as well as with the USDA in Ames, Iowa, to further improve this test. Last but not least, we have developed a serologic test for Trichinella which allows producers and veterinary authorities to monitor the presence of Trichinella spiralis in their territory.
We are developing new diagnostic solutions and will continue to do so in the future for the benefit of our customers and, hopefully, to prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases to humans.
