FDA establishes research partnerships with four universities

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) announced on September 18 the creation of four Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers (AVICs).

The AVICs have three areas of concentration:

• Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and emerging zoonotic disease threats or One Health issues
• Intentional genomic alterations (IGAs) in animals and the advancement of regulatory science in this field, with a focus on IGAs that support agricultural resilience, food security, animal health, or public health
• Unmet veterinary medical needs in minor and major species that create a significant animal or public health burden

These centers will receive funding to advance regulatory science and further development of innovative products and approaches to support animal health and veterinary interventions, according to the announcement.

These AVICs are long-term partnerships with the FDA intending to address priority areas for the CVM’s Animal and Veterinary Innovation Agenda, which guides its plans to better protect human and animal health.

The four funding recipients are the Kansas State University, the University of Arkansas, the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis), and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wisconsin will use the funding to explore the development of genome-edited chickens to reduce susceptibility to HPAI and other avian viruses. The research will involve genetically targeting pro-viral host factors, antiviral proteins, or viral genes.

UC-Davis will research intentional genomic alterations in livestock species to advance the use of gene editing technologies in food animals. Additional research will generate and share phenotypic and bioinformatic data to support a science-based approach to regulating IGAs in food animals.

Alison Van Eenennaam, PhD, is the co-primary investigator for this research and a distinguished professor of cooperative extension in the field of animal genomics and biotechnology at UC-Davis.

She says gene editing offers an approach to introduce IGAs into livestock breeding programs that result in useful characteristics, such as resistance to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in pigs.

“Ultimately, this AVIC will help advance the safe application of gene editing in livestock to improve the sustainability of animal agriculture,” she told AVMA News.

Kansas State will develop models to evaluate the efficacy of analgesics in food animals in support of new drug approvals. Specifically, this work supports pain relief in pigs, goats, and cattle.

And finally, Arkansas will research the infection and formation of cyst-like Histomonas meleagridis—the cause of blackhead disease in turkeys–in vitro and in vivo. The university will identify the cellular pathways that facilitate encystation in H. meleagridis and screen inhibitors against encystation of H. meleagridis in vitro and in vivo.

Selecting the partnerships was done by a competitive cooperative agreement process to establish the AVICs and address health needs in priority areas, the FDA release says.

Funding is renewable for up to four years. The FDA CVM is still accepting applications for other AVIC opportunities.

The FDA CVM will work with Congress and partners to expand this new initiative and support animal and veterinary medical innovation, the agency says.