The Horse & Pets Lab Experts

Project HoTT - 38.121 monitoring

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Project designation:  HoTT - Horse Testing Tour 
Approval date: 27-12-2019
Project code: Centro-01-0247-FEDER-38.121
Start date: 30-11-2019
Main objective: Strengthening research, technological development and innovation
Conclusion date: 30-11-2022
Intervention region: PO_Centro
Total eligible amount: 368.765,90€
Beneficiary entity: Equigerminal, S.A.
Total approved amount: PT_2020_FEDER: 235.314,11€

 Project summary:

The HoTT-Horse Testing Tour project - is the culmination of successfully completed R & D activities in the generation of disruptive, patented and certified diagnostic kits under the projects QREN I & DT No18536, No38637, PT2020 PI 17196 and PT2020 ID & T 10991. With this demonstrator project we intend, for the first time, to enter the market and reach the long-awaited goal - the commercialisation of innovative diagnostic kits for the New Equine Virus (NEV). 

The global equestrian industry is a multibillion-dollar marketplace that encompasses many equestrian activities, such as the racing industry, sport and leisure horses. It is a niche market and very demanding.
Equigerminal in the scope of the projects mentioned above discovered the problem and the solutions presented in this project. Our solutions contemplate two diagnostic kits - 'first in class'- NEV-CHECK c-ELISA and molecular NEV-CHECK. These 2 diagnostic kits are complementary products for the diagnosis of the new Equine Virus (NEV), a virus similar to HIV-1. The first kit detects antibodies against NEV and the second kit detects the NEV itself.

During the years 2020/2021 HoTT will demonstrate and disseminate Equigerminal diagnostic kits in the European market (UK, Germany, France and Italy), the Middle East and Brazil, with the main objective of validating the kits in real environment and to create a network of laboratories validated for the diagnosis of NEV.


 Main objectives:
  • disseminate the existence of NEV as a causative agent of fatal disease in equines, generating the need for its diagnosis;
  • obtain validation by the target clients / laboratories of these kits and to create a network of partner laboratories;
  • develop a pilot line for the manufacture of molecular NEV-CHECK;
  • investigate the potential applicability of these new kits in other species.