BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Symbiotix Biotherapies, Inc. (“Symbiotix”) today announced that the company was awarded a $2.0 million Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The company, based in Boston, is developing a novel class of molecular therapeutics from the human microbiome.
Symbiotix’ lead clinical candidate, Polysaccharide A (PSA), is the first potentially therapeutic molecule to emerge from the microbiome. The $2.0 million NIH award enables completion of key translational studies and process development/manufacturing needed to move PSA into human clinical trials as a novel treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other immune-mediated disorders. This latest award marks the fourth NIH award that Symbiotix has received for its development programs, which have so far received over $5.0 million in NIH funding. PSA is a first-in-class oral therapy that works through a novel mechanism of action related to activation of regulatory T cells with potent anti-inflammatory effects.
“Many of the existing FDA-approved drugs for IBD are ineffective in large subsets of patients or have significant side effects,” said Prof. Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD, the Louis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, and Co-Founder of Symbiotix, “This award will provide funding to advance PSA as a possible safe and effective new oral therapy for many patients suffering with IBD.” The studies funded through this award will be conducted by Symbiotix in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology.
“We are pleased to announce our fourth NIH award, as it enables important translational work necessary to initiate human clinical studies for PSA, a first-in-class oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease and other immune-mediated disorders including multiple sclerosis,” said Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Symbiotix. “We are grateful for the continued support by NIH as we move forward the first molecule from the human microbiome with therapeutic potential. Backed by over two decades of rigorous scientific research and robust intellectual property from leading institutions, Symbiotix is pioneering the development of molecular therapeutics from biologically active organisms found in the human microbiome.”
About Symbiotix Biotherapies, Inc.
Symbiotix Biotherapies,
Inc. was founded on the basis of research at Brigham & Women’s
Hospital/Harvard Medical School, California Institute of Technology and
Dartmouth College, and our Company’s scientific founders are
distinguished thought leaders in the microbiome field. At Symbiotix, we
are developing a novel class of molecular
therapeutics based on molecules derived from the human microbiome.
Our lead program represents the most widely tested molecule from the
human microbiome and is a first-in-class oral agent for the treatment of
serious immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease
(IBD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). For more information, please visit www.symbiotix-bio.com.
