Ambitious new biotech venture PHIOGEN has developed a world-first technology platform that mobilizes the natural power of bacteriophages to tackle critical and life-threatening infections, marking a significant medical breakthrough for countering the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. The company will make its debut at the 6th World Congress on Targeting Phage Therapy in Paris, June 1-2, 2023, when more details will be unveiled.
PHIOGEN is a spin-off company from Baylor College of Medicine and was born out of innovation from the globally renowned research team at TAILOR Labs, one of the United States’ only academic phage therapy centers, built on over a decade’s worth of revolutionary research that is now being commercialized to treat populations of patients. PHIOGEN’s headquarters is located in the world’s largest medical complex inside the prestigious Texas Medical Center’s Innovation Hub in Houston, Texas.
PHIOGEN’s proprietary first-of-its-kind technology platform is capable of discovering and screening, at-scale, naturally occurring bacteriophages, singling out those with elite bacteria-fighting abilities, and directing biological changes to evolve the phage into antimicrobials which overcome resistance.
This technology creates a new business model for phage therapy as the group is able to create products which treat populations of people instead of on a per patient basis. By optimizing nature’s defenders, the team has deployed novel phage treatments which have been successfully administered to several patients in FDA approved compassionate use cases..
Amanda Burkardt, CEO at PHIOGEN, said: “Nothing about our treatments is fabricated, it boils down to creating natural environments that mimic real-life infections, driving biological changes to create “super phages” against the superbugs. As a result, we receive high-performing phage fighters that are trained and ready to deliver safe and effective treatments for clinical applications.”
This new methodology holds the potential to play a major role in tackling the ongoing global health crisis of antimicrobial resistance dubbed ‘the silent pandemic’, which the World Health Organization (WHO) expects to be responsible for 10 million deaths annually by 2050.
PHIOGEN’s R&D efforts are led by well-known phage researcher Dr. Anthony Maresso, founder of TAILOR Labs at Baylor College of Medicine, whose phage therapy work spans over a decade.
The WHO deems drug resistant infections as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity with estimates of over 5 million deaths worldwide attributed to antibiotic resistant infections.
“Our patented technique of evolving the natural fighting power of bacteriophages creates a new paradigm in phage therapy where natural lytic cocktails carry the same advantages as fully synthetic phage and can be used to treat entire patient populations,” added Burkardt.
“Rising antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest health challenges of modern times. In real terms, our safe and effective phage treatments have the potential to transform clinical outcomes and lives.”
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About PHIOGEN
PHIOGEN™ is a trademark of PHIOGEN INC. PHIOGEN is an innovative biotech company housed in the Texas Medical Center’s Innovation Hub and is committed to using proven technology to deliver patient-ready bacteriophage products to tackle the most deadly and serious bacterial infections facing our world. PHIOGEN’s world-class patented process has received early proof of concept validation through several in vivo studies as well as use in patients under FDA approved compassionate use cases.
For more information: www.phiogenpharma.com
