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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-07-16, Page 2Pape 2 Times -Advocate, July 16, 1986 Ow the thresliold of new treatment of urinal, human diseases Veterinarian Dr. Stan Alkemade is certain he stands on the threshold of a revolutionary new era in the treat- ment of animal and human disease that will see antibiotics replaced by immune stimulant compounds. He resigned his jobas lecturer in animal science at CentraliaCollegeof Agricultural Technology in May to ac- cept the challenging position of direc- tor of technical services for Vetrepharm, Inc., currently a world leader in immune, stimulant technology, and the first to have on the market a licenced treatment for viral diseases in animals based on stimulation of the immune system. The fledgling company has grown remarkably since opening its head of- fice in London six years ago. Vetrepharm was set up initially by a small gruop of veterinarians to supply Ontario vets with drugs and other pharmaceuticals not always easily obtainable from the large multina- tionals. The charter shareholders, Alkemade included, felt a small com- pany could be more responsive to the market, and keep in closer touch with practitioners in the field. The shareholders now number 36. All are veterinarians except company president Graham McRae, former sales representative with the giant Pfizer company, and most have prac- tices in southwestern Ontario. Vetrepharm branched out with its own treatments for viral diseases after purchasing Ragland Research Inc. in Athens Georgia and acquiring the services and research data of Dr. William Ragland, a pioneer in the field of immune stimulant technology. The partnership continued Ragland's experiments with mycobacterial cell wall fractions spun into oil droplets. The perfecting of Regressin, the first commercial preparation of a mycorbacterial cell wall im- munostimulant approved as an aid in the treatment of tumours, led to a serendipitious discovery. Not only did tumours in horses respond to the treatment, but upper respiratory virus infections cleared up too. Further experimentation showed that straight Regressin caused too many adverse side effects when treating viral infections, but modifications resulted in a biologial compound which stimulated the im- mune system to produce a massive increase of antibodies. Alkemade had been monitoring all the research. He recalls the excite- ment. "We have a fantastic adjuvant. Let's see if it will work when added to vaccines!" Alkemade explains that the conven- tional way to develop disease resistance is by inoculating with a killed or a modified live virus vac- cine. A major problem is to get enough antigen into an animal to build up a large antigen mass. The safest way is with killed organisms. Using weakened live organisms is more ef- fective, but presents difficulties in storing and handling. Work to date has shown the Vetrepharm vaccines give as high a protection rate as modified live vac- cines, and one dose activates the im- mune system. The vaccines do not re- quire refrigeration or mixing. They leave no residue in an ,animal's system, eliminating one of. the con- cerns when antibiotics are ad- ministered to animals being raised for human consumption. The company now offers a full range of compounds to treat viral diseases in all domestic species, even one specifically designed for fish. Vetrepharm also owns a 196 -acre farm at Putnam where vaccine pro- duction, initial testing, and animal research are carried out, and a research lab in Alberta. Large-scale research is done in Alberta and Georgia. Acquisition of the im- munostimulant compound patents and licences has accelerated a push - into the international market. SNACK TIME — Joyce Kirk (left) and Annie Zielman pass out cold drinks and cookies during a break with the kindergarten class at Vacation Bible School in Zurich. More than 100 participate Bus four of Ausable watershed More than 100 persons participated in a Saturday bus tour sponsored by the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Autho y. The}t,�xd' 33 interesting areas in the no rn portion of the Authority's watershed and included a noon hour stop at the Clinton conservation area. Here a plaque was unveiled and a commemorative tree planting ceremony held. This was the first event to mark the 40th anniversary of the Authority. A major celebration is being held July 30 at the headquarters at Morrison Dam. The Ausable Authority was the first to be establish- ed in the province of Ontario in 1946. Since that time 37 others have been formed. The Bayfield watershed was added in 1972. In his invocation Rev. Major George Youmetoff in referring to the major tree planting program at Clin- ton said, "Man is finally looking after what he has been given." . Andy Houser, manager of the Wingham District of Natural Resources said he continues to be im- pressed by the good work of the authority in land and water manage- ment. He added, "Southern Ontario still provides 20 percent of Ontario wood and 70 percent of fish and wildlife related aspects can be found here." Huron's Ag Rep Don Pullen said, "The park in Clinton is a credit to the authority. Trees have come a long way and with the new plantings we will eventually have a fine woodlot. Others speaking were Tuckersmith township reeve Bob Bell, Clinton reeve Bea Cooke and authority chair- man Gordon Johnson and water management chairman Bill Thirlwall of Lobo township. - During the bus tour, stops were made at conservation tillage sites at the farms of Bert Visscher, Gary Eilers, Jack McGregor and Russ Flowers. Visscher features no -till soybeans and minimum till soybeans into corn residue, Eilers has no -till corn into corn residue and a comparison of planters with dry fertilizers versus li- quid acid fertilizers, Jack McGregor has ridge planted corn and soybeans planted with co-operator's planter and ridge planted corn mainly planted into fall -formed ridges and Russ Flowers has pasture renovation with the Huron Soil and Water Con- servation District drill and legumes seeded without tillage into grass to in- crease protein. Farmstead windbreaks were view- ed at the farms of Bill Munn, John Scott, the Van Loon farms, Harry Arts and Cor Vanden Hoven. The largest and most significant wetland in the Ausable River watershed is Hay Swamp where the Authority owns 2,325 acres. The authority owns 1,132 acres of agreement fotest iu Stephen township, mostly in the west end it was purchased from 1952 to 1963. The Stephen wildlife area is a 100 acre naturally forested and reforested area acquired in 1963. It in- cludes a 17 acre Canadian Forestry Service plantation that is 13 years old. A variety of trees have been planted. This avoids monocultures and enhances the sites' suitability for wildlife. At the Port Blake Conservation Area, 16.9 acres of lakeshore proper- ty has been leased from the Ministry of the Environment since 1973. Picnic and playground facilities and access to the 958 fookt beach have been pro- vided by the ABCA. The Crediton Conservation Area is 4.5 acres of parkland including river flats and floodplain land of the Ausable River. The township of Stephen handles maintenance. TALK TO GERMANY Reg Finkbeiner, Roy Finkbeiner, Drew Robertson and Steve Pertschy talk to Baiersbronn in Germany for a short wove radio program. T•A photo Crediton goes world-wide The_ police village of Crediton was on the airwaves a few weeks ago -as part of a tourism campaign sponsored by the German city of Baiersbronn. With' more than 1,000 people gathered in a Baiersbronn auditorium, Deutsch Wylie, the Ger- man Radio Network broadcast short- wave messages from descendantsof native folks of the area who had im- migrated to other countries. In addition to a telephone hookup to Crediton, calls were made to Paraguay and Venezuela where other Baiersbronn residents moved to. 1 Sending greetings across to Ger- many from Crediton were Reg and Roy Finkbeiner and Steve Pertschy. Also present was councillor Drew Robertson representing the tdtvnship of Stephen Roy Finkbeiner at the age of 89 is the oldest living member of the family which came to Canada in 1848. Other families to follow in later years were Braun's now known as Brown, Eilber, Wein, F'aist and Fahner. Pertschy who comes' from the Black Forest province assisted Reg. Finkbeiner in making the ar- • rangements. Nick and Marlene Jeromkin of Khiva had also been contacted. Pertschy has since received a call from his sister Maria Morsch in the Heidelberg area of Germany saying she had heard the braodcast. The German callers asked if any German foods were still popular with those who have their roots in the Baiersbronn area. They were told sauerkraut, pretzels and zue Ile bread were among the foods still ranking high on the list. • Vetrepharm's export sales were $4,500,000 in 1985, and are expected to double this year. Nicaragua bought a large supply of vaccine last year, and McRae has just returned from a swing through the East with sizeable orders from Malaysia and Thailand. One prospective customer with unlimited potential is China, a coun- try Alkemade predicts will be a ma- jor economic power in another 15 or 20 years. This paper reported previously on Alkemade's 12 -day visit to China last November promoting a front-line transportable veterinary diagnostic laboratory set up for studying various microbiological disciplines which was introduced at the Agri -China '85 Ex- position in Beijing (formerly Peking). Alkemade had been the veterinary resource advisor and microbiology consultant, supplying drawings and designing equipment and techniques, from the time Vetrepharm began building the lab a year ago. He was selected to accompany the showcase exhibit to the Chinese Exposition as one of 65 Canadian exhibitors of everything from seed and fertilizer to wine. During the November visit, Alkemade was invited to return this May to lecture on disease prevention and immunology. He ended his tenure at CCAT on May 13, and headed for China the next day. The Canadian delegation this time included the Vetrepharm president, Vetrepharm employee (and native Chinese) Li Sui Hi M.D., as well as a representative from the Ontario department of industry, trade and commerce, plus Dr. Don Gerson from the Alberta research council, (who was also putting on a seminar), and Jim Long, breeder of the Candian bacon - maker pigs at Woodlynne Farms, Strathroy. (Long made the.first sale to China of grandparent stock of the hybrid pigs before returning to Canada.) Alkemade spent the first two days of this visit in Beijing holding seminars on disease prevention in swine and poultry, China's main sourcesof protein, for 200 members of the deparmtent of agriculture from across the country. The Vetrepharm delegation took a 19 -hour train ride from Beijing through hundreds of thousands of acres of winter wheat (all planted, cultivated and harvested by hand) to Nanjing. Here they spent another two days in a plant employing 900 people to produce 655,000,000 doses a year of modified live vaccines. Vetrepharm has been asked to submit a prop isal on updating the plant. Alkemade is already working in this project, due to be presented to the Chinese in July. He will provide three options: completely modernize with computer technology so 50 people can replace the 900; the same "whistles and bells" high tech to produce im- mune stimulant vaccines; or retain more jobs in either option by letting humans rather,than computers do the monitoring, as China's greatest resource is cheap labour. France is also being asked to bid, but will present only one proposal on modernizing the factory to produce the same vaccines as before. Alkemade gives Vetrepharm's bid an 80 -percent chance of acceptance. Besides what the Canadian firm can offer in science and technology, Alkemade notes the favourable climate for Canadians first fostered by the still revered Dr. Norman Bethune, and casually adds that the Australian background of both himself and McRae helps too, con- sidering Australia was among the first to recognize Red China and open an embassy there. Vetrepharm will continue to receive guidance and support from both federal and provincial agricultural, trade and development agencies negotiations pertaining to the hoped-for trade agreement. If Vetrepharm gets the contract; a massive market will open for Canada. The Nanjing plant would require $50,000,000 in physical equipment alone, and the Chinese have three similar plants they also want to modernize. Canadian technologists would be travelling to China, and Chinese officials would be coming to Canada for training. Weekly Special IH 4000 swatter, hydro, 12' draper head, pickup reel, hay cond., air, auger head, available. Only $15 900" r)) )) (h, FARM EQUIPMENT LTD. Soles & Seevlce Since 1932 Exeter, Ontario 235-2121 In addition to the economic poten- tial of the immune stimulant com- pounds, Alkemade is equally enthus- ed about their far-reaching implica- tions for human and animal health. As well as someday making an- tibiotics obsolete, Alkemade believes immune stimulant research will ultimately lead to a breakthrough in treatment of the two most stubborn roadblocks in medicine - cancer and the common cold. DR. STAN ALKEMADE Interimy a ments p for 1985 wheat Ontario white winter wheat pro- ducers will soon receive an interim payment for wheat sold to their marketing board from July, 1985, to the end of May, 1986. Chairman of The Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board, Edgar Walcarius of RR 6, Aylmer, announc- ed plans to make the payment during the week of June 23. He said the payment will amount to $5.00 per tonne, or about 14 cents per bushel, cn over 900,000 tonne sold by producers during the period specified. The payment will be in addition to the initial payment producers received upon delivery of their wheat, of $120.00 per tonne, or $3.26 per bushel. The board chairman said nearly all of the 1985 record crop of white winter wheat has been sold by the marketing board, and a final payment, not known at this time, will be made as usual in mid September. To date, board sales to export markets total over 537,000 tonne, while sales for domestic human con- sumption exceed 255,000 tonne, with seed and feed sales at about 60,000 tonne. It was pointed out that producers delivering wheat during the month of June will receive interim payments as the deliveries are processed by the marketing board. Pre -owned MAZDA 626 s 1985 626 Luxury coupe fully loaded, power win- dows, cruise, power suri roof, alloy wheels, sound system. 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