Ventria Bioscience
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| Type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Biotechnology |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Fort Collins, CO |
| Area served | USA |
| Products | Bioscience Products |
| Website | www.ventria.com |
Ventria Bioscience is a biotech company with a focus on human nutrition and human therapeutics. The company was established in 1993.[1] The company's core technology is a plant-based protein production system called ExpressTec. Ventria invites other researchers to have access to its recombinant human lactoferrin and recombinant human lysozyme through a program called BioShare.[2] The Company has operations in Kansas, Colorado, and the United States Virgin Islands.
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[edit] Regulatory Advantages
ExpressTec uses self-pollinating crops such as rice and barley to minimize the risk of gene flow normally associated with transgenic plants. Plant-produced proteins also offer advantages for cell culture and bioprocessing use because they replace animal derived components, which have become unpopular due to concerns about prion contamination.
[edit] Facilities
Ventria's corporate headquarters is in Fort Collins, Colorado, with additional facilities in Kansas. On September 29, 2006, Kansas officials announced an agreement to bring Ventria’s new bioprocessing facility to Junction City, Kansas. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was very supportive of the agreement and was quoted as stating "I welcome Ventria Bioscience to Kansas and look forward to their contributions to the health of children worldwide."[3] The effort to attract Ventria to Kansas involved a number of players, including Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Agriculture Adrian Polansky, The Kansas Department of Commerce, Junction City and Geary County, Kansas Technology Enterprise Corporation (KTEC), KansasBIO, Kansas State University, and Kansas Farm Bureau.
[edit] Markets and products
Ventria has commercialized nine products and is targeting three markets:
- Human Health
- Cell-based biomanufacturing
- Zoonotic disease
- Reservoir targeted oral lyme disease vaccine
- Reservoir targeted oral rabies vaccine
In February, 2007, the results of a new study found that an electrolyte solution incorporating Ventria’s products, helped children recover faster from diarrhea.[4] The results showed that the children receiving Ventria’s product recovered 30% faster, were more likely to recover from their diarrhea and were less likely to relapse into another episode. Ventria’s product comprises two proteins found naturally in breast milk. In the United States, there are more than 1.5 million hospital visits for childhood diarrhea. Globally, childhood diarrhea is the second leading killer of children under the age of 5, claiming 2 million lives annually.
