A protein taken from the udder of a cow might provide a life-saving treatment for premature infants. Research that could deliver the treatment involves an Irish firm, Tridelta Development Ltd, and the University of Nebraska Medical Centre.

The two have set up a company to commercialise the work, TriMed Research Inc. "It is a joint venture set up in the US to research the further potential of the protein," explained Tridelta's marketing manager, Mr Martin Gallagher.

Tridelta has a sales and marketing base in Bray, Co Dublin, and a research and manufacturing centre in Maynooth, Co Kildare. It employs 15 people. "The company was formed five years ago with the intention of researching and developing novel technologies in the field of veterinary diagnostics," Mr Gallagher said.

It specialises in developing test kits or "assays" for proteins released soon after infection by a bacteria or virus. Known as "acute phase proteins", these provide markers for illness and can indicate that an infection is under way before an animal shows any clinical signs of disease, Mr Gallagher said.

There is a variety of these proteins, which vary depending on the species, the infecting agent and even the period of time that has passed since infection. Examples include haptoglobin and serum amyloid A (SEA). "They are produced by all mammals," Mr Gallagher said. "They are a very good marker of the general health landscape of the organism."

These proteins also arise if the animals are injured or simply under stress because of the way they are being handled. The proteins are detectable within hours of the stress and could be used to screen for non-symptomatic but ill animals at the processing plant, Mr Gallagher said.

The new deal is with a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Nebraska, UneMed Inc. "Our tie-up with UneMed came about because we were researching the further application of the SEA test."

Prof Tom McDonald, professor of immunology and pathology at Nebraska, had discovered a unique acute phase protein produced in the udder of a cow. Researchers had thought these proteins only originated in the liver, he said. "This is a new form of SEA. It is a completely new protein that no one had described before."

The protein was found to be an excellent marker for the onset of mastitis, a serious bovine infection that costs EU farmers up to $3 billion (€3.4 billion) a year, Mr Gallagher said. Tridelta began helping the university develop a commercial mastitis test, an assay that could pick up minute traces of the SEA protein. It can give a result in 10 minutes, even before the animal begins to show symptoms of the disease.

Researchers on both sides of the Atlantic realised, however, that the protein had potential in other areas and this led to the creation of the joint venture company. The deal was signed last October and since then Tridelta has been studying new ways to use the protein.

"It would have potential applications in a large number of areas," he said. One of the most promising involves helping the body to protect against infection. "It would help the body in terms of fighting infection. It works by boosting the body's own natural defences in a localised area."

Initial work has shown that only a portion of the protein is needed to have an effect. Studies have involved its use in the intestine, where it might be able to block the biochemical events necessary for infectious organisms to cause disease. It does this by altering the intestinal environment, Mr Gallagher said.

This would open up huge commercial potential for a treatment for intestinal infections ranging from prevention of traveller's diarrhoea to clearing infant diarrhoea, he added.

A commercial product addressing this market will come, however, after TriMed has used the protein for the development of a treatment for necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). This is a very serious complication that frequently occurs in premature and very low birth weight infants. More than 35,000 cases of NEC occur amongst infants in the US each year and a large percentage of these die because of the lack of an effective treatment.

"NEC is a prime area of focus because it is a horrendous disease. There is not a lot available to help in that area," Mr Gallagher said.

A successful treatment using the protein could be worth $150 million to $300 million a year, he said, but it could take several years to bring a treatment to market.

Products to counter gastroenteritis could be worth even more if the protein proved effective in that area. Mr Gallagher also expects the new mastitis assay will be on the market within months and will do well for the company.