Technologies

ConjuGon, Inc. is developing novel technologies that use harmless bacteria as drugs.

Currently, the company is advancing the technology of Bacterial Interference for the prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (commonly referred to as CAUTI) and Conjugation-Based Killing Technology for the prevention and treatment of wound infections.

 

Bacterial Interference

The basis of bacterial interference is to use harmless bacteria to effectively ‘out-compete’ pathogenic, disease causing bacteria and interfere with their ability to establish an infection. Our lead product in this area is C-1205, a drug that will be used to significantly reduce the incidence of urinary tract infections in catheterized patients. ConjuGon’s technology involves the introduction of completely harmless bacteria into the bladder which then protects the patient from infection with pathogenic, harmful bacteria. Bacterial interference has been used in hundreds of patients to prevent the development CAUTI, with great results; however, these studies have all used freshly grown bacteria that cannot be stored prior to use. ConjuGon’s product can be stored for years after manufacture, and is exceptionally easy to administer to patients.

An FDA-approved Phase Ib clinincal trial of C-1205, in patients that are highly susceptible to developing CAUTI, is in progress.

Conjugation-Based Killing Technology

ConjuGon’s conjugation-based killing technology is based on conjugation, a naturally-occurring process by which DNA is transferred from a harmless donor bacterium into a recipient pathogenic bacterium. ConjuGon uses conjugation to transfer an engineered ‘killer plasmid’ into pathogens. The ‘killer plasmid’ contains genes, encoding toxins that attack different targets in the pathogen. The expression of both genes is tightly regulated; there is no expression in the donor bacterium however upon the transfer of these genes to the pathogenic recipient, the toxins are immediately expressed and the pathogen is killed. The donor bacterium is engineered to minimize toxicity, to be unable to replicate in the environment or in the body, and to maintain and protect itself from the killer plasmid.

 

Gram-Negative Wound/Burn Treatment

Our lead product in this area is B-4474, which uses ConjuGon's conjugation based killing technology to target wound infections (including traumatic, surgical, and burn wounds) caused by Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. B-4474 is effective against a wide range of Gram-negative pathogens, including important pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumonia and Escherichia coli. Currently in the Pre-Clinical stage, the product has undergone extensive in vitro and in vivo testing to support the filing of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in preparation for human clinical trials in the near future.

 

Gram-Positive Wound Treatment

Our second product using conjugation based killing is being developed to target Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Usually these bacteria cause nothing more serious than a minor infection (such as a pimple or boil) but on occasion serious infections are possible. Approximately 500,000 people are hospitalized each year in the U.S. because of Staphylococcus spp. infections, and half of these patients are infected with antibiotic resistant MRSA. MRSA kills 20,000 people each year and even more virulent strains of MRSA are becoming increasingly common.

In addition, gram positive infections caused by other bacteria such as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp., Clostridium difficile, and Streptococcus pyogenes kill thousands each year. This product is currently in the research stage of development.