AvidBiotics Awarded SBIR Grant for Avidocin™ Antibacterial Proteins Against Clostridium difficile
Targeted Antibacterial that Avoids Collateral Damage to Non-targeted Gut Bacteria
South San Francisco, CA (September 27, 2012): AvidBiotics Corp. today announced the receipt of grant from the National Institute of Allergic and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health to further development of the company’s targetable bactericidal proteins to specifically kill Clostridium difficile bacteria. The new Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, Award Number R43AI098186, provides AvidBiotics with a total of $600,000 of research funding over two years.
“Clostridium difficile has become the most frequent cause of hospital-acquired infections, recently overtaking methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA),” said David W. Martin, M.D., AvidBiotics chief executive officer. “Traditional antibiotics cannot be used to prevent C. difficile infections due to their profound unintended collateral damage to beneficial gut microbes. Our Avidocin™ proteins offer a potential new preventative approach to selectively kill C. diff. without affecting non-targeted microbes or contributing to the problem of antibiotic resistance. This new funding will help support our preclinical research and advance Avidocin™ proteins towards the clinic.”
About AvidBiotics Avidocin™ Protein Antibacterial Technology
AvidBiotics’ Avidocin™ antibacterial proteins, a potential new therapeutic approach against serious bacterial health threats, selectively kill target organisms without collateral damage to non-targeted bacteria and without adding to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. AvidBiotics has derived Avidocin proteins from R-type bacteriocins produced by some bacteria for their own defense against other bacteria. These proteins specifically kill targeted bacteria by binding to the bacterial cell and punching a hole in the cell envelope, causing membrane depolarization and prompt cell death. AvidBiotics has demonstrated that Avidocin proteins can be engineered not only against specific bacterial species but even within a species against specific strains. AvidBiotics’ proprietary technology thus serves as a platform for the production of numerous highly specific antibacterial agents. Research has moreover shown AvidBiotics proteins to be non-toxic, biodegradable, highly potent against targeted antibiotic-resistant bacteria in vitro and in vivo. AvidBiotics currently has Avidocin™ proteins in development against such human pathogens as Clostridium difficile, E. coli O157:H7 and multiple other shiga-toxin producing E. coli strains, Yersinia pestis (plague), and Acinetobacter.
About AvidBiotics
AvidBiotics is a developer of novel, non-antibody proteins targeting bacteria, virus infected cells and cancers. AvidBiotics has two proprietary product platforms. The first is a new class of tailorable, targeted bactericidal agents for use in the treatment or prevention of specific bacterial infections or contaminations. AvidBiotics’ second technology platform specifically flags virus-infected or cancerous cells for enhanced destruction by the Natural Killer and T-cells of the potent innate immunity system. AvidBiotics focuses on human therapeutic applications of its technologies, both on its own and in partnership with governmental agencies and research institutions, while taking advantage of further near-term collaborative opportunities offered by specific applications of its products and technology platforms in areas such as food safety, biodefense and animal husbandry. The company recently announced a partnership with DuPont Nutrition & Health aimed at commercializing its antibacterial protein technology in the field of food and food protection. For more information on AvidBiotics, please visit the company’s web site at http://www.avidbiotics.com.