PERTH biotech Chemeq is days away from producing commercial quantities of its breakthrough animal drug alternative to antibiotics.
The Australian Stock Exchange was told yesterday that the first two steps of the manufacturing process were completed. Chemeq said it now held a year's supply of monomer, the active and vital ingredient in the veterinary product.
Pre-launch sales to South Africa, where the product will go on sale first, are believed to already exceed $1 million, about 20 per cent of the pig industry's drug market.
Chemeq, which has regulatory approvals pending across Europe, the US, Australia, Thailand and Brazil, seeks a major share of the $9 billion world market for pig and poultry pharmaceuticals.
Chairman Graham Melrose said last night the first South Africa shipments were expected to begin in weeks.
The firm's world-first anti-microbial drug has been hailed as an alternative to using antibiotics to promote growth in pigs and poultry.
Chemeq claims the treatment overcomes long-term problems arising from antibiotic residues in animals entering the human food chain.
Dr Melrose said European and US regulators were concerned that on-farm use of antibiotics promoted drug resistance.
"That is one of the reasons we are beginning to see superbugs," he said.
"Drug resistant germs are on the poultry or the pork and they get into our kitchens and then into the hospitals.
"If it continues we will be back where we were before World War II."
Dr Melrose said the European Union was banning antibiotic use as an animal growth drug.
America's Food and Drug Administration has also said that it will review approvals given to livestock antibiotics sold to farmers.
The US body has proposed the fast-tracking of approval for the Chemeq product.
The FDA accepts Chemeq's argument that its drug can overcome problems of antibiotic resistance.
With world patents that tie the technology to Chemeq for at least 20 years, the company has moved boldly to capitalise on its drug breakthrough.
Unlike other locally based biotechs, Chemeq will produce and market worldwide rather than issue production licences to multinationals.
Dr Melrose said the drug was administered via drinking water.
It kills germs in the intestinal tract without entering the bloodstream or invading the carcass.
"You don't eat the residues," he added.
Developed by Dr Melrose over eight years of research, the drug will be sold to New Zealand producers before it is available at home.
The Australian and Thai markets are likely to follow soon after, once approvals are given.
Chemeq, which floated on the ASX in 1999, is listed among Standard & Poor's top 200 companies.
It has been funded with more than $70 million raised in separate share issues.
CMQ Price at posting:
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