Public Funding for Mi:Rna Ltd

MI:RNA Ltd is a veterinary diagnostics company with a unique, patent-pending, biomarker testing technology and we aim to use our expertise to explore the early and accurate diagnosis of Bovine Tuberculosis (bTB).This project builds upon our previous successful Innovate UK funded trial which demonstrated the potential of our technology to detect early-stage Johne's disease, part of the same mycobacterial family as bTB. Bovine Tuberculosis is a chronic wasting disease with enormous implications economically, environmentally and in terms of productivity and sustainability for the UK farming sector. Despite decades of an extensive, policy driven eradication schemes, this notifiable disease remains prevalent in many parts of England. Current testing methods have limitations with poor sensitivity and frequent inconclusive reactors (IRs), hampering disease control efforts. The potential introduction of bTB vaccination (e.g. BCG vaccination) to the UK is a further complication, as animals can test falsely positive after vaccination. Consequently, improved diagnostics will result in enhanced disease control leading to increased productivity, mitigation of economic losses and assistance in achieving a sustainable and safe, carbon neutral business model. This project will combine MI:RNA's innovation with the research expertise of colleagues within Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). The assembled team will work with the APHA, the UK government animal health laboratory, from whom samples and data will be sourced, along with their specialist and experience guidance. Project phases: Phase 1: A bespoke panel of microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers will be created specific to bTB pathology. This will be trialled with negative control and bTB positive serum samples to generate expression profiles of these markers, which will be analysed by advanced supervised AI algorithms, generating an initial modelling system for detection of bTB. Phase 2: This phase will see the model being optimised and challenged with longitudinal time course samples from previous APHA studies of bTB challenged animals. This will allow further refinement of the model for improving early-stage diagnostic accuracy. Phase 3: This phase will see the mature model being challenged with the task of differentiating between bTB vaccinated animals and true bTB cases, success here would be hugely beneficial to planned bTB vaccination programmes. The outcomes of these trials will be released publicly in peer-reviewed academic journals and protected with patents, and we will finalise our next stage research and development objectives. This will feed directly into our commercialisation plan to make the product available to the market, positively impacting the UK livestock sector.

MI:RNA Ltd is a veterinary diagnostics company with a unique, patent pending, biomarker testing technology. This project builds upon our successful, initial Innovate UK funded preliminary trial which demonstrated the potential of our technology to detect early-stage Johne's disease in dairy and beef enterprises. Johne's disease leads to a significant reduction in milk yields and weight loss in affected cattle, as well as increasing the greenhouse gas production from animals affected. Consequently, improved early disease detection will benefit the sector with increased productivity, mitigation of economic losses and assistance in achieving a sustainable, carbon neutral business model. This project will combine MI:RNA innovation with the research expertise of colleagues within SRUC. The assembled team will work with English farms recruited by our collaborators in the Digital Dairy Chain and CIEL network, from which samples and data will be sourced, directly benefitting these enterprises with tailored input and guidance. Additional longevity data will be sourced from stored sample banks. CIEL market research workshops will scope the commercial landscape and help tailor the product to the producers' needs. Project phases and goals: Phase 1: The current preliminary data will be enhanced with further healthy and infected cattle serum samples in collaboration with SRUC research and veterinary services. This allows us to mature the AI model. Additionally, the accuracy of pooled samples and alternative sample mediums of milk and urine will be assessed and optimised. Phase 2: The accuracy and sensitivity of early disease detection will be established. This will be achieved through trialling the enhanced AI model with longitudinal Johne's disease samples from our specialist research collaborators including the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands and SRUC premium cattle health schemes. This allows modelling with predictive data and establishment of test accuracy at each stage of disease. Phase 3: The finalised model will be tested in a real-life setting. This will involve work with English farms linked with Digital Dairy Chain (NW England) and CIEL network (UK). In this extensive trial, we will receive and process samples from participating farms, optimize sample handling and processing and directly compare our test to existing solutions. The outcomes of these trials will be released publicly in peer-reviewed academic journals, and we will finalise our next stage research and development objectives. This will feed directly into our commercialisation plan to make the product available to the market, directly and positively impacting the agricultural protein production sector.

MI:RNA Ltd are a veterinary diagnostics company with a unique, patent pending, biomarker testing technology. This novel technique, coupled with our bespoke AI modelling system, can provide accurate, early diagnoses in a wide range of disease types and species. SRUC are a world leading research organisation focusing on livestock disease. Currently, agriculture accounts for one third of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with cattle the primary source. Endemic, production limiting disease, such as Johne's disease make agriculture currently unsustainable. We aim to determine whether we can detect Johne's disease in the early stages and transform the production animal market.