Zendal group launches CSIC-developed vaccine against canine leishmaniasis on the market

A team formed by the Zendal group and scientists from the Spanish National Research Council developed in 2022 the first vaccine for animal mammals based on recombinant DNA to fight canine leishmaniasis, a parasite that causes from skin ulcers to severe inflammation of the liver and spleen. Now, the company specializing in pets Petia, belonging to the pharmaceutical group Zendal, presents its arrival to the market at the XLI Annual Congress of the Madrid Association of Veterinarians of Companion Animals held at IFEMA. The Neoleish vaccine, produced by Prof. Vicente Larraga's group at the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research (CSIC), is capable of reducing the risk of infection after exposure to the parasite and reduces its presence in nine out of ten cases.

The presentation, led by the comedian Carlos Latre, was attended by Eloísa del Pino, President of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC); and Ricardo Troncoso, CEO of Petia.

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by the Leishmania parasite, of the trypanosomatid family, which is carried by the phlebotomine sandfly. It is a severe zoonosis (meaning that it is transmitted from animals to humans), present in the Mediterranean basin, Asia, and America, which can cause death without treatment and whose main reservoir is the dog. The clinical manifestations of the disease range from spontaneously healing skin ulcers to fatal forms in which severe inflammation of the liver and spleen occurs. Between 500,000 and one million new cases occur each year and, in Spain, it is estimated that almost 30% of dogs have had contact with the parasite.

"It is a peculiar parasitic protozoan that is introduced into the cells of the immune system of the animal it infects and thus protects itself from the antibodies it generates to eliminate it. It thus requires, for its protection, the activation of the so-called cellular pathway (the well-known killer cells and T lymphocytes), to be eliminated," says Vicente Larraga, who has led the development together with CIB-CSIC researchers Pedro José Alcolea and Ana Alonso Ayala.

Neoleish is a highly innovative vaccine that uses DNA technology, based on fragments of genetic information that encode immunogens, making it the third vaccine of its kind to be marketed in the world. Named by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as one of the three innovative biotech drugs of the year 2022, in November of that year it received authorization to be marketed as a veterinary medicinal product for dogs.

The vaccine specifically activates the cellular defense pathway in infected animals and reduces, by more than 90%, the presence of the parasite inside the cells of vaccinated dogs. In addition, it enables active immunization of Leishmania-negative dogs from 6 months of age to reduce the risk of developing active infection and/or clinical disease following exposure to Leishmania infantum.

"This is an important milestone for the company, given the importance of this vaccine in the pet health environment," highlights Troncoso. "Once again the union of public-private synergies gives a good result in the biopharmaceutical field. The Zendal-CSIC alliance has achieved a milestone in animal vaccinology. After a long time of research, today we are launching a safe vaccine on the market, belonging to the most innovative group, the so-called third-generation vaccines," concludes Andrés Fernández, CEO of Zendal.