INDUSTRIAL IMPACT
iNtRON Biotechnology | July 12, 2022
iNtRON Biotechnology announced that CDL200, a novel biological drug candidate under the development of the world's first enteric colon-targeted capsule formulation for the treatment of intractable and recurrent CDI confirmed the strong efficacy against clinical isolates from CDI patients.
A company official explained that the antibacterial activity of CDL200 was evaluated for 20 clinical isolates from patients in Europe and Korea, and rapid lysis effect within few minutes after treatment was confirmed from all of the tested strains. In particular, even though majority of the tested strains are resistant strains to the commonly used antibiotics such as Metronidazole, Vancomycin, and Rifaximin, CDL200 showed very potent and rapid bactericidal activity.
CDL200 is an endolysin-based novel biological drug candidate for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection, a hard-to-treat and recurrent bowel diseases. CDL200 has innovative drug properties that can eradicate bacteria much faster than the conventional antibiotics in the market, and also can be used for the infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria and/or highly virulent bacteria.
CDI patient population has been increasing globally and resulting in high mortality rate due to resistance to the existing antibiotics and serious complications such as toxic megacolon, sepsis, and intestinal perforation. Although there is growing interest in refractory CDI that does not respond well to primary treatment, there are only few studies on effective treatment yet. The more serious problem is the frequency of recurrent CDI is increasing, since the risk of subsequent recurrence is over 45% in patients who have had at least one recurrence.
The conventional treatment based on Metronidazole and Vancomycin is not effective for CDI with severe intractability and repeating recurrence. And the recently attempted FMT (fecal microbiota transplantation), that is, the treatment of administering donor feces to the patient's intestinal tract, has advantages such as not suppressing the intestinal flora and not creating resistant strains, but the treatment brings objection to the general public and is limited in that there is a possibility that other pathogens from the donor may be transmitted.
The mortality rate of CDI was about 3-4% in the past, but due to intensification of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the emergence of highly virulent strain (NAP1/027), the recent mortality rate has been rapidly increased to over 10%, which makes global awareness growing.
Dr. KANG, Sang Hyeon, CTO of iNtRON, said, "We have a number of new endolysin pipelines under the development utilizing our unique itLysin® technology for the serious infection that the development of effective therapeutic agents are urgently needed."
"Based on the development experience of SAL200, we will strive to enhance the value of our rich itLysin® pipelines and will continue to secure global competitiveness in the endolysin field."
Mr. YOON, Kyung Won, CEO of iNtRON
About CDL200
CDL200 is a novel endolysin-based anti- Clostridioides difficile causes an infection of the large intestine which is often referred to as C. difficile or C. diff. CDL200 showed potent and rapid activity against 100% clinical isolates from multi-nation and has no disturbance of the normal flora in human's gut. The potential clinical usage and indications are CDI and IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), and the targeted administration route of CDL200 is oral in capsule formulation. CDL200 is under non-clinical stage development and IND enabling studies will be conducted throughout the year.
About iNtRON Biotechnology, Inc.
iNtRON is a leader in bacteriophage-based technology with aim to develop and investigate into the 'Immune & Immunotherapeutics' market. While pursuing global research and business development investments since their foundation and accelerated development after entering its IPO in KOSDAQ, the company honed in on innovating BIO New Drugs by developing various 'First-in-Concept' bio-drugs and conducting clinical studies in phases. The Company is committed to development of innovative innovation in the infectious diseases and 'Immune & Immunotherapeutics' area.
About iNtODEWORLD, Inc.
iNtRON has established its wholly owned US subsidiary, iNtODEWORLD, Inc. in 2017. iNtODEWORLD was initially registered in Delaware and the headquarter office is currently located in Boston. iNtODEWORLD provides news, updates and platform development progresses of iNtRON to its potential global partners and collaborators along with its own R&BD works in the US.
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CELL AND GENE THERAPY
iTolerance | July 01, 2022
iTolerance, Inc., an early-stage privately held regenerative medicine company developing technology to enable organoid, tissue, and cell therapy, announced entering into a joint collaboration with LyGenesis, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company with an organ regeneration technology platform. The joint collaboration is aimed at evaluating the potential of iTOL-201, a product candidate being developed combining LyGenesis' LYG-LIV-100 liver cell therapy and iTolerance's SA FasL microgel immune tolerance platform to permit the growth of ectopic livers without the requirement for immune suppression.
The joint research effort of iTolerance and LyGenesis has produced in vitro data using iTOL-201 and is now moving toward small animal proof of concept work to assess the potential of the combined technology for producing ectopic livers capable of saving the animals from fatal liver disorders without the requirement for immune suppression.
With our lead therapy now in the clinic in a Phase 2a trial in patients with End Stage Liver Disease, we have turned our attention toward a second-generation therapy capable of growing ectopic organs without the need for immune suppression. iTolerance's platform holds enormous promise in this respect and we look forward to the results from our joint proof of concept work."
Dr. Michael Hufford, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of LyGenesis.
While long-term immunosuppression continues to be an obstacle for the use of cell and regenerative therapies, the research being conducted between both LyGenesis and iTolerance could allow for a major advancement in organ regeneration, As we advance our own pipeline of therapies focused on supporting pancreatic islet engraftments, I believe this synergistic collaborative research with LyGenesis has the potential to successfully combine technologies to drive significant value for both biotech companies and importantly, the patients we work to serve."
Dr. Anthony Japour, Chief Executive Officer of iTolerance.
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MEDICAL
Anitoa | June 30, 2022
Anitoa Systems, market leader in fast, portable molecular testing, today announced the availability of a CE-marked turn-key PCR solution for testing Monkeypox. This portable solution includes one of a family small foot-print real time PCR instruments called the Maverick qPCR, with an extraction-free multiplex PCR reagent that tests OPXV/MPXV gene-targets in the skin lesion sample from patients suspected of infection with Monkeypox. Anitoa's Monkeypox test is designed to be carried out on-site, near patient, thus avoiding the need to transport patient samples to central labs for testing.
The World Health Organization reported that over 2,100 people in 42 countries have been diagnosed with monkeypox as of June 15, nearly all during the past two months. As of June 17, the CDC reports 24 confirmed monkeypox cases in California, US. Although The CDC reports that the threat to the general U.S. population is considered low, it is important for healthcare providers worldwide to have a preparedness plan.
Already having a presence in Africa, Anitoa Systems has started deloying its near-patient Monkeypox test in selected clinics in Africa. Anitoa is prepared to deliver its Monkeypox test solution world-wide when the need arises.
Anitoa's Maverick line of multiplex real time PCR devices are lab-accurate, fast, portable and calibration-free. They can operate on battery power (including car battery) and takes up very little bench space. Maverick qPCR instruments are built on Anitoa's proprietary CMOS biosensor technology. They have been used widely for on-site testing of food, environment samples and agriculture products due to its rugged all solid-state design, small form factor, and lower operation cost.
Anitoa's Monkeypox detection solution is part of an on-going program at Anitoa to develop tests to help combat a series of neglected tropical diseases in low resource settings. These tests currently include IVDR tests for Dengue, Yellow Fever, and Malaria
We are closely monitoring the situation of Monkeypox infections around the world and tailoring our test solutions to the needs of the people affected."
Zhimin ding, CEO of Anitoa Systems, LLC
About Anitoa
Anitoa Systems, a medical device technology start-up established in 2013 with headquarter in Sunnyvale, California, develops highly integrated and portable bio-sensor devices for molecular detection, based on its unique CMOS image sensor-based fluorescence and chemiluminescence molecular imaging. By replacing the traditional bulky and costly photon-multiplier tube (PMT) and CCD-based optical sub-systems, Anitoa's ultra-low-light CMOS sensor technology enables a new generation of compact and inexpensive molecular testing platforms targeting infectious, oncology and cardio-vascular markers. Anitoa manufactures its qPCR instruments and test kits in Hangzhou, China and Fremont, California.
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