FIVE news llamas have joined the herd at the University of Reading’s Centre for Dairy Research.
Denzil, Marlene, Raquel, Rodney and Trigger arrived at the CEDAR facility at Arborfield in February.
The five join three llamas born at the farm in the past year — Bella, Donna and Gandolph — as well as an older established herd, bringing the total number on the farm to 23.
One of the herd is also expected to give birth later this summer.
The llamas are central to research into nanobodies, a type of miniature antibody that only certain animals, including llamas, can produce.
Nanobodies are far smaller than standard human antibodies, making them easier to engineer into drugs and use as new research tools.
Scientists extract nanobodies from the llamas’ blood after exposing the animals to a small quantity of a virus or protein, a process similar to vaccination, in which llamas are not harmed.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, nanobodies from the Reading herd contributed to research into treatments for the virus.
That work has since expanded into a wide range of other medical and scientific applications.
These include ongoing studies into bird flu and the virus that causes tropical Oropouche fever, as well as work on antimalarial drugs, cancer biomarkers and pandemic preparedness.
The research is supported by Llamatech NBS, being developed as a spin-out company from the University’s nanobody programme. The company recently completed the ICURe Explore programme, a national scheme that helps university researchers test the commercial potential of their work.
During the programme, the Llamatech NBS team spoke with more than 100 researchers, biotechnology companies, investors and potential partners around the world.
Those conversations helped build the case for a dedicated UK-based nanobody service supporting work in therapeutics, diagnostics and structural biology.
Professor Gary Stephens, who leads the nanobody service at the University of Reading, said: “It is always a brilliant day when new llamas arrive on the farm. We love these animals and we get very attached to them, they all have great personalities.
“Their welfare is absolutely our priority and we take enormous pride in looking after them to the very highest standards. But they are also doing something quite incredible.
“The nanobodies we get from them are being used in research that could one day change how we treat cancer, infectious diseases and much more–they are rather extraordinary creatures.”
Dr Anna Selezneva, Business Development Officer for Nanobody Technical Service, said: “Llamatech NBS is proud to be building on the University of Reading’s long-standing expertise in nanobody research and camelid care.
“Our aim is to make this unique capability more accessible to researchers and industry partners, both in the UK and internationally, while maintaining the highest standards of animal welfare, ethics and scientific quality.
“We are now progressing through the ICURe Exploit stage, taking the next important steps towards becoming an independent company with real-world impact.”
