Mr. Chair, members of the committee, on behalf of Bioniche Life Sciences, thank you for this opportunity.
Bioniche Life Sciences is an innovative Canadian biopharmaceutical company based in Belleville, Ontario. Our mandate is to act on innovation and to improve the quality of life. We are publicly traded, invest heavily in research and development, and are currently employing 200 people in highly skilled, science-based jobs.
I'm here to speak about a vaccine against E. coli O157:H7, a deadly bacteria that continues to affect Canadians and consumers worldwide. The associated disease was originally termed “hamburger disease” as outbreaks were traced back to undercooked hamburger. It's hard to believe this was first identified 25 years ago, and yet huge recalls of hamburger still occur. This germ can also be present in produce, as you may recall the outbreak due to contamination in spinach in 2006.
Of greatest prominence, however, would be the tragic outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario, in 2000. Thousands fell ill, seven died, and 27 will never return to normal health, all due to this bacteria. At the time, governments at all levels vowed to ensure that tragedies such as Walkerton never happened again.
The development of this vaccine resulted in an international award, and it is truly an across-Canada success story with genuine thanks to R and D funding from the Government of Canada. Initial discovery: UBC. Scale up: Alberta Research Council. Testing: VIDO at the University of Saskatchewan. Commercialization: Bioniche Ontario. The Bioniche research group is based in Quebec and we are considering some supplementary manufacturing in P.E.I.
Ruminants, particularly cattle, are the primary reservoir of this E. coli as these animals have no receptor for the bacteria's toxin. Consequently, this strain lives within the intestines of cattle without any ill effects to them, and exits their body regularly in the manure. When people are exposed, this germ causes common diarrhea in most. However, intestinal hemorrhage and severe bloody diarrhea develops in about 10% to 15% of cases, and 5% to 10% of these progress to kidney failure and/or death.
Perhaps the scariest hidden threat is how this E. coli, when present in water, can be drawn up through the roots and be inside fresh produce such as spinach and lettuce. Consumers should not have to fear that fresh produce could cause disease.
Although this innovative vaccine could easily be defined as a public health vaccine, as it reduces the public health risk, it is not given to the public but, alternatively and more strategically, to cattle. This way the vaccine can work to prevent the E. coli strain from entering the environment and the food and water supplies right at the source.
This breakthrough could not come at a better time. Just recently the CFIA recalled numerous beef products, and immediately prior to this was a huge recall for 22.7 million pounds of hamburger in the U.S.A. that was linked to Canadian beef. Needless to say, this attracted the attention of the USDA, and the negative publicity was yet another blow to Canada's beef industry, which frankly is still struggling to recover from BSE or mad cow disease.
An independent economic report estimates that vaccinating Canada's entire national herd would provide a two-to-one return on investment, with benefits of $63 million--a $30 million reduction in health care costs and a $33 million benefit to the agricultural economy. Canada is currently the only country in the world where regulators have granted cattlemen access to an E. coli O157:H7 vaccine. One might assume that cattlemen would quickly move to vaccinate their animals; however, it's not that simple, and hence the reason for this presentation.
Cattlemen receive no direct benefit for incurring this cost. Unlike animal health vaccines, this vaccine will not benefit cattle in any way. Canadian cattlemen are willing to administer the vaccine, but really cannot justify incurring any added expense without an offsetting increase in revenue. A Government of Canada program that encourages adoption of the E. coli O157:H7 vaccine over a period of three years would provide leadership for the agricultural sector, use innovation for the benefit of public health, and position Canada as a global leader in food safety. The goal of this program would be to vaccinate the national herd by 2010.
I'm asking this committee to recommend that $50 million be allocated in the next federal budget to facilitate adoption of a cattle vaccination program over three years. After three years, the benefits of inoculating cattle against this E. coli are expected to be readily evident and justify continuation based on normal marketplace forces.
In summary, this Canadian vaccine is a world first and a shining example of innovation. Widespread adoption will position Canada as a global leader in food safety and provide much needed assistance to the agricultural sector, particularly the beef industry. It will also preserve consumer confidence in Canadian food and benefit public health.
Thank you. I'll be pleased to answer any questions.