A vaccine-development company in Birmingham, Alabama, has taken a major step toward a possible contraceptive for dogs and cats.
Vaxin Inc. received a $1-million grant that scientists hope will move them closer to an alternative to spaying and neutering pets.
Research on a pet-contraceptive vaccine has been going on in Alabama for about 10 years. Reports The Birmingham News:
The Michelson Grant money from the Found Animals Foundation will go to a three-year project that Vaxin is working on with Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine's Scott-Ritchey Research Center. The research will continue findings from Vaxin's vaccine technology -- which has already been tested in humans -- and the work the Scott-Richey Research Center does toward developing contraceptive vaccines for cats and dogs.
In the world of scientific research, one grant often leads to another. And that could be the case with the Michelson funds:
Vaxin and Auburn researchers can now pursue an even larger prize from the Found Animals Foundation worth $25 million. As a condition of any funding from Found Animals Foundation, the organization gets the first right to buy a license on any products that come from research it funds. The foundation says it will fund up to $50 million in grants, which were first announced in 2008.
"For a decade scientists at the Scott-Richey Research Center and Vaxin have collaborated in the design and testing of dog and cat contraceptive vaccines" said Henry Baker, one of Auburn's lead researchers on the project.
"The goal is to create a vaccine which will induce long-term sterility and block breeding behavior in both male and female dogs and cats after a single dose."
What could the development of a pet contraceptive mean? Reports The Birmingham News:
Between 6 million and 8 million dogs and cats enter animal shelters in the U.S. each year and about half are euthanized, according to the Found Animals Foundation. Animal sterilization has been a known solution, but can often be costly and require trained veterinarians. But if a vaccine is created, it could be a better option, the foundation says.