AmpliPhi's novel bacteriophage therapy demonstrates comparable efficacy to vancomycin in S. aureus lung infection model

Results presented at the Joint Interscience Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection (ICC) 2015 meeting

AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSEMKT: APHB), a global leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat drug-resistant infections, today announced experimental results highlighting that its prototype bacteriophage cocktail demonstrated comparable efficacy to vancomycin in reduction of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in a murine lung infection model. Data from this study, performed in collaboration with the Hearts Consulting Group and the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center, were presented at the joint Interscience Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) and International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection (ICC) 2015 meeting, taking place in San Diego from September 17-21.

“We are encouraged by these positive results, which demonstrate comparable efficacy between our investigational bacteriophage therapy and a standard of care therapy like vancomycin for S. aureus infections,” said M. Scott Salka, Chief Executive Officer of AmpliPhi. “These data provide valuable insight as we continue to evaluate and optimize an effective phage-based therapeutic cocktail for combating S. aureus, a potentially lethal bacteria that has demonstrated widespread resistance to traditional antibiotics.”

To assess the in vivo efficacy of bacteriophages to treat lung infections, neutropenic immunocompromised (ICR) mice were inoculated intranasally with S. aureus. At two hours post infection, scaled dosing of the bacteriophage cocktail was administered intranasally to three dosage groups (50 µl; n=5 for each group), with a second identical dose administered at six hours post infection. Vancomycin was administered subcutaneously at two and six hours post infection to a fourth, positive control group. Two control groups were infected, but untreated. The groups treated with the bacteriophage cocktail at the two highest doses (1 x 109 and 1 x 108 PFU per phage per dose) showed a 3-log reduction in bacterial cell counts relative to untreated controls at the same time point, which was comparable to the efficacy seen in the positive control group treated with vancomycin.

“These results further validate bacteriophage therapy as a potential solution for treating bacterial infections and represent an instrumental step in determining optimal dosage levels,” added Salka. “S. aureus is a common, hospital-acquired opportunistic pathogen that can cause serious, and sometimes antibiotic-resistant, infections. Combatting this unmet medical need will improve patient outcomes and alleviate an enormous burden on the global healthcare system. The need for alternative treatments for drug-resistant infections has never been more evident. It is critical that we continue to investigate novel antibacterials and accelerate their development and commercialization.”