PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Peptilogics, a biotech company engineering peptide therapeutics to improve the treatment landscape for patients with life-threatening diseases, will present three papers at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago March 24. The paper presentations highlight the potent antimicrobial activity of Peptilogics’ lead investigational engineered peptide PLG0206. The preclinical data showed that PLG0206 reduced biofilm mass and increased survival of animals infected with multi-drug resistant ESKAPE pathogens for the treatment of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). A Phase 1b clinical study of PLG0206 for the treatment of PJI is ongoing.
According to the studies’ coauthor Dr. Ken Urish, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and Medical Director of the Magee Bone and Joint Center at UPMC, “Patients with PJI are a major clinical challenge. Current treatments are often inadequate to eradicate the infection due to biofilms and these patients endure multiple surgeries and hospitalizations, with a major impact on their quality of life. We simply need a better solution. The PLG0206 data is encouraging, and we look forward to the clinical study.”
PLG0206 is a broad-spectrum, anti-biofilm, anti-infective peptide therapeutic currently in clinical development for the treatment of PJI. PLG0206 was designed with a unique mechanism of action that allows it to directly address persistent bacterial pathogens within the biofilm that evade standard of care antibiotics by targeting and disrupting bacterial membranes to trigger bacterial cell death. In both in vitro and non-clinical studies, PLG0206 has demonstrated best-in-class, rapidly bactericidal, broad-spectrum activity against a variety of pathogens including those identified by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as critical, urgent or high-priority targets, regardless of resistance phenotype. PLG0206 has been granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of PJI and has also been designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP).
“PJI remains a difficult to treat life-threatening complication associated with joint replacement surgeries, leaving patients and physicians in desperate need of new and more effective treatment options,” said David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Peptilogics. “The data presented support the distinct antimicrobial properties of PLG0206, its activity against biofilm as well as drug resistant bacteria, and its potential to become a new treatment option for the unique challenges of PJI.”
Peptilogics presented three papers at the AAOS 2022 Annual Meeting:
The Engineered Antimicrobial Peptide PLG0206 has High Biofilm and Planktonic Activity Against Multi-Drug Resistant ESKAPE Organisms
An Engineered Antimicrobial Peptide, PLG0206, Reduces Biofilm Mass and Increases Survival in a Rabbit Model of Staphylococcus aureus Periprosthetic Joint Infection
Prospective ex vivo activity of an engineered antimicrobial peptide, PLG0206, on chronic periprosthetic joint infection total knee arthroplasty components: The Knee Explant Analysis (KnEA) Study
The paper presentations featuring Peptilogics’ research can be viewed on the AAOS 2022 website.
Dr. Urish has a financial interest in Peptilogics.
Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X. CARB-X’s funding for this project is sponsored by the Cooperative Agreement Number IDSEP160030 from ASPR/BARDA and by an award from Wellcome Trust. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders.
About Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI)
More than one million total joint replacements are performed annually in the U.S., a number that is expected to grow to four million annual procedures by 2030 due to an aging and active population. Following joint replacement, 1-2% of patients will develop a PJI, a serious life-threatening condition, which often necessitates continuous antibiotic usage, multiple high-risk surgical procedures, and implant removal with limited ability to resolve the infection. The current standard of care has up to a 60% failure rate and results in a substantial number of patient deaths, evidenced by a 25% five-year mortality rate.
About Peptilogics
Peptilogics engineers peptide therapeutics to radically improve the treatment landscape for patients with life-threatening diseases. Through biological and pharmaceutical expertise, novel artificial intelligence algorithms, and purpose-built super-computing, Peptilogics is advancing an extensive therapeutic pipeline and accelerating discovery efforts at a pace and scale that was previously impossible. Peptilogics is backed by visionary investors in life science and technology including Peter Thiel, Presight Capital, Founders Fund, CARB-X, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information about Peptilogics, visit www.peptilogics.com or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.
