17:49 uur 13-07-2015

Ferring Pharmaceuticals boekt vooruitgang met vroege ontwikkelingsfase van bacteriofagentherapie tegen inflammatoire darmziekten

SAINT PREX, Zwitserland–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Ferring Pharmaceuticals heeft vandaag bekendgemaakt dat het samen met het in Baltimore gevestigde Intralytix, Inc. werkt aan de vroege ontwikkelingsfase van een op bacteriofagen gebaseerde therapie tegen inflammatoire darmziekten (IBD).

Bacteriofagen zijn virussen die bacteriën infecteren. Ze werden een eeuw geleden voor het eerst geïsoleerd en bleken een antibacteriële werking te hebben. Onlangs brachten onderzoekers een specifieke bacterie, de hechtende en invasieve Escherichia coli (AIEC), in verband met de ziekte van Crohn, een chronische inflammatoire darmziekte. Ferring onderzocht samen met de universiteiten van Lille en de Auvergne en DigestScience de mogelijkheid van bestrijding van AIEC bij IBD-patiënten met behulp van bacteriofagen. Vervolgens ontwikkelde Ferring in samenwerking met Institut Pasteur en Intralytix een combinatie van bacteriofagen die het specifiek hebben gemunt op AIEC-groepen bij patiënten met de ziekte van Crohn.

Binnen de vandaag aangekondigde samenwerking helpt Intralytix Ferring bij het formuleren en produceren van bacteriofagen voor klinische proeven, die beginnen in 2016.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals moves forward with early stage development of bacteriophage therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

SAINT PREX, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Ferring Pharmaceuticals announced today that it will collaborate with Baltimore-based Intralytix, Inc. in the latest phase of its early stage development programme for a bacteriophage-based therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Bacteriophages are viruses that infect bacteria. They were isolated for the first time a century ago and discovered to be antibacterial agents. More recently, researchers linked a specific strain of bacteria, adherent and invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), to Crohn’s disease1, a chronic IBD condition. To explore the possibility that bacteriophages could be used to combat AIEC in IBD patients, Ferring first collaborated with the University of Lille, University of Auvergne and DigestScience, a foundation dedicated to research on digestive diseases, to better understand AIEC. Then, together with the Institut Pasteur and Intralytix, Ferring developed a combination of bacteriophages specifically designed to target AIEC strains found in Crohn’s disease patients.

In the collaboration announced today, Intralytix will assist Ferring in formulating and manufacturing the bacteriophages for use in clinical trials, which are expected to begin as soon as 2016.

“Crohn’s disease is a painful and debilitating condition with limited treatment options,” said Per Falk, Executive VP and Chief Scientific Officer at Ferring. “Our development program to bring relief to CD patients with our bacteriophage treatment directed against AIEC bacteria is ongoing.”

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals:

Headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, specialty biopharmaceutical group active in global markets. The company identifies, develops and markets innovative products in the areas of reproductive health, urology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and orthopaedics. Ferring has its own operating subsidiaries in nearly 60 countries and markets its products in 110 countries. To learn more about Ferring or its products please visit www.ferring.com.

1 Barnich N, Boudeau J, Claret L, Darfeuille-Michaud A. Regulatory and functional co-operation of flagella and type 1 pili in adhesive and invasive abilities of AIEC strain LF82 isolated from a patient with Crohn’s disease. Mol Microbiol. 2003;48(3):781–794.; Barnich N, et al. CEACAM6 acts as a receptor for adherent-invasive E. coli, supporting ileal mucosacolonization in Crohn disease. J Clin Invest.2007;117(6):1566–1574; Chassaing B, et al. Crohn disease–associated adherent-invasive E. coli bacteria target mouse and human Peyer’s patches via long polar fimbriae.J Clin Invest. 2011;121(3):966–975

Contacts

Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Patrick Gorman
Tel. +41 (0) 58 301 00 53
patrick.gorman@ferring.com
or Helen Gallagher
Tel. +41 (0) 58 301 00 51
helen.gallagher@ferring.com

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