The Formulation and Production of an Efficacious Polyvalent Rattlesnake Toxoid Vaccine for Dogs Webinar

Approximately 150,000-300,000 dogs and cats are bitten annually in the United States by venomous snakes. The need for an efficacious, polyvalent toxoid vaccine targeted against the bite from North American pit vipers is not currently being met. This presentation will review the science behind the production of a toxoid vaccine against rattlesnake bites and the process of getting approval from federal, state and local agencies to maintain a colony of over 500 venomous snakes and market a product made from their venom. Jim will also talk about the challenges of maintaining rattlesnakes in captivity and extracting venom.

James McCabe has been involved in the field of Laboratory Animal Science for the past 40 years. He has worked for private industry, universities and government facilities including: Amgen, Genentech, Xoma, GenPharm, NASA, USC and UCLA. Areas of expertise include: Transgenic animal production, small animal surgery, technician and investigator training and the maintenance of venomous animals used in biomedical research. Currently James is managing the Gnotobiotics Facility for the City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute. Recently He started a company, ZooToxins LLC, to produce and market a toxoid vaccine for dogs which will reduce or totally neutralize the effects from the bites of North American pit vipers. The ZooToxins’ “Rattlesnake vaccine” is currently under evaluation by the USDA. Safety and efficacy trials in dogs are currently underway.