Ovagen Ltd

Ovagen Ltd (www.ovagen.com) is an SME based in Mayo, Ireland. Ovagen has established techniques and facilities for the large-scale production of germ-free eggs and chickens. Germ-free birds have no bacterial flora and are free of infectious agents. Eggs are a rich source of low-cost antibody, including highly specific monoclonal antibody, and when produced from germ-free birds the eggs are microbiologically sterile. The germ-free eggs exceed all regulatory requirements and are GMP compliant. Further information can be found at www.ovagen.com

Ovagen's involvement in PurStem is led by their CTO, Dr Tim Rowan. Dr Rowan has a distinguished career in research and research management, with over eighty peer-reviewed papers. He is one of the founders of Ovagen and he has previously held senior positions at Liverpool Vet School and with Pfizer R & D.

A key objective of PurStem is to identify and mass-produce antibodies which are specific to mesenchymal stem cells. This will greatly simplify the isolation of these rare cells from host tissue. Ovagen's eggs and chickens will be important enablers for the creation of such antibodies in significant amounts, and their subsequent validation.