Newly-launched biotech venture, PHIOGEN, received an enthusiastic reception at the 6th World Conference on Targeting Phage Therapy, where it was recognized by organizers with the ‘Best Scientific Innovation Award’.
The company, which is a spin-off from Baylor College of Medicine and was born out of innovation from the team at TAILOR Labs, made its debut at the event in Paris, France, June 1-2, 2023, where it unveiled its world-first technology platform.
During the ‘10 minutes to Convince’ session, PHIOGEN’s CEO Amanda Burkardt revealed how the company’s method of naturally evolving the highest performing bacteriophages to overcome resistance opens up a new business model for phage therapy to create antimicrobial solutions to treat patients at population scale.
Amanda said: “By combining the best science of natural and engineered phages, our technology occupies the missing middle ground in the traditional phage development paradigm and creates a commercially viable pathway for phage therapy.
“We evolve phages with enhanced characteristics through our state-of-the-art technology platform, ushering in a new generation of bacteriophage products. By screening our phages in the most human-like infections models in the lab and evolving them to overcome resistance, we are able to decrease failed outcomes and reduce the need for unnecessary trials.
“This medical breakthrough will continue to push phage into the forefront of the conversation about how best to tackle antimicrobial resistance.”
Prof. Marvin Edeas, Université de Paris, INSERM 1016, Institute Cochin, France said: “We examined more than 11 companies and start-ups for the best innovation award and PHIOGEN was the best. The way PHIOGEN has translated the innovative work going on at TAILOR Labs into this innovative start-up is excellent and very impressive. I think we are all looking forward to seeing what the company will achieve next and we wish the whole team every success for the future.”
The company’s research and development efforts are led by well-known phage researcher Dr Anthony Maresso, based at Baylor College of Medicine, and built on over a decade’s worth of groundbreaking research.
Accepting the award, Amanda said: “We must give credit to the incredible team at TAILOR Labs where none of this would be possible without their tireless efforts and the support of Baylor College of Medicine and BCM Ventures. This event has been an exceptional springboard for our launch, and I can’t stress enough how this win is not just a win for us, but a win for all who are looking to push phage forward.”
The 6th World Conference on Targeting Phage Therapy was the first stop of a conference roadshow for the company, which will be making its next appearance at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe 2023 in Houston, Texas, June 15-19.
– ENDS –
About PHIOGEN
PHIOGEN is an innovative biotech platform housed in the Texas Medical Center innovation hub. It is committed to using proven technology to deliver patient-ready bacteriophage treatments to tackle critical and life-threatening infections. Its world-class research has received early proof of concept through several in vivo studies as well as for patients in FDA approved compassionate use cases.
For more information: https://www.phiogenpharma.com/
