US BIOLOGIC is a social innovation company working with scientists to commercialize their solutions to addressing diseases like Ebola, Lyme, Malaria, and Zika by engaging the firm's global distribution partners to bring these products to market worldwide, Centers for Disease Prevention & Control (CDC), suggest 75% of all emerging infectious diseases affecting humans are zoonotic. While zoonotic diseases difficult to control, US BIOLOGIC has developed an innovative disease prevention solution that will be an important tool in controlling the spread of Lyme and other zoonotic diseases. Prevention methods include Residential pesticides, home landscape modifications, staying away from woodland areas, wearing long shirts and pants, and regular tick checks are all common methods of protection. Additional efforts have included culling deer, so that ticks have fewer places to mate. There is evidence that each of these techniques have some positive effect, but the case numbers still continue to surge. A New Paradigm: the transmission cycle of Lyme disease from mice, to ticks, and then to humans and other animals. To address Lyme disease at the original source of tick infection, the mouse US BIOLOGIC is focused on developing an innovative disease prevention platform. Based on years of research by a University of Tennessee scientist, Dr. Maria Gomes-Solecki, who asked the important question: If mice are the species that most often infect ticks, why not use the mice as vehicles to break the transmission cycle? Dr. Gomes-Solecki began testing a new process whereby she took a vaccine known to effectively block transmission of Borrelia and reformulated it into a simple vaccine pellet that could be distributed in areas where there is the greatest interaction of mice, ticks, and people. Once mice consume the vaccine pellets, the transmission cycle of Lyme disease is broken. The National Institutes of Health and CDC supported the research with over $6 million dollars in the R&D funding. After five years of field trials in New York, the new technology drove down the number of infected ticks by 76%. In those fields that were tested but not treated, the number of infected ticks grew by 61%. The authors of the published study noted Implementation of such a long-term public health measure could substantially reduce the risk of human exposure to Lyme disease. The field trial results garnered national attention when they were published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The paper was co-authored by partners at the Cary Institute, the CDC, and Penn. Once her research was complete, Dr. Gomes-Solecki turned to US BIOLOGIC to commercialize her technology into one of the worlds first solutions to curtail the spread of zoonotic disease. Focused on developing a safe, effective, and cost-efficient solution to curtail the spread of zoonotic diseases, beginning with Lyme disease. US Biologics company is focused on commercialization of proven technologies using its proprietary oral delivery platform. The company partners with inventors from other companies, universities, and government agencies. The firm's board and leadership team includes Nashvilles Mike Shmerling (XMI High Growth Fund CEO) and David Williams, retired CEO and Chairman of Sanofi (the worlds largest manufacturer of vaccines). Also leading the company are strong science leaders like Tom Monath, MD, a former director of infectious diseases at the CDC and Tommy Thompson, four-time governor of Wisconsin and past Secretary of the US Department of Health & Human Services. These board members have joined US BIOLOGIC based on its innovative disease prevention solutions and vision. In November 2013, US BIOLOGIC was recognized at the Global South Summit as the top company in the Global Food Health Innovation Challenge (GFHI). In that challenge, a prestigious group of scientists and business experts celebrate companies with solutions to the worlds biggest food and health challenges. Since its GFHI honor, US BIOLOGIC has invented new production and distribution technologies and has quickly advanced through the USDA regulatory process. US BIOLOGIC has also built a significant state and federal government partnership presence, working with agencies in each of the states where Lyme disease is most prevalent. At the same time, US BIOLOGIC has forged strategic relationships with industry partners, including worldwide names in public health, animal health, pest control, and lawn care industries. Further relationships have been built with the myriad of nonprofit groups that have advocated for decades for better solutions to prevent Lyme disease. This partner-driven approach is a unique but necessary path for this prevention innovation to succeed. US BIOLOGIC is teaching the world a new way to combat disease, and it relies on its external champions to make new inroads, to teach others, and to open up doors to new resources. US BIOLOGICs technology platform enables it to commercialize a variety of disease prevention solutions. The company is already addressing other tick-borne diseases, and exploring ways to provide expanded disease prevention in the companion animal, poultry, and cattle industries.
