Companies To Watch: AvidBiotics

By Wayne Koberstein, Executive Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @WayneKoberstein

This company’s “precision” drugs may hold the key to defeating antibiotics resistance and collateral harm to the microbiome — plus a new approach in antivirals and immuno-oncology.

SNAPSHOT
AvidBiotics is in early development of “precision antibacterials” from its basic technology platform based on R-type bacteriocins, proteins secreted by Pseudomonas bacteria that kill other bacteria with extremely potent “single-hit kinetics” — it only takes one bacteriocin molecule to kill a bacterium. The company has engineered the bacteriocins to target specific bacterial strains that remain or have become problematic. It has two lines of engineered bacteriocins: “Avidocin” proteins, against infectious bacteria in humans; and “Purocin” proteins, versus contaminating bacteria in food and animals. A third technology line, “Micacide” proteins, uses a different targeting mechanism to draw the immune system to attack virus-infected cells and cancers.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
One word, precision, promises many benefits. For years, the standard goal for all new antibiotics was a broad spectrum of activity — the ability to kill multiple species of “bad bugs” with a single drug. A broad spectrum gives doctors the freedom to prescribe a drug with the near certainty of scoring a hit on whatever bacterial strain may have invaded the gut, the skin, the ear, and so on. But the shotgun approach also encourages overprescribing and widespread misprescribing of such antibiotics for almost any infection, driving antibiotic resistance. Meanwhile, many good bugs die a wasteful and damaging death, robbing patients of their protection. Drugs that can target individual species and strains will avoid all of that.

AvidBiotics believes it has such a remarkable arsenal in the making. Its engineered bacteriocins appear to strike with extraordinary precision, against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria alike. David Martin, M.D., CEO, cofounded the company with James Knighton, president, in 2004, and Jeffery F. Miller, Ph.D., following an interest in bacteriocins as a potential new approach to drug-resistant bacterial strains. Rather than merely pursuing new mechanisms and compounds that would have the same broad-spectrum effects as the older ones, they chose precise targeting of single bacteria types as the possible next paradigm in antibiotics. “We like to call our approach ‘precision drugs for bad bugs,’ rather than new drugs for bad bugs,” Martin says.

“With a precision agent, you can kill a particular strain or species of a bug, but you don’t put any selective pressure on other bacteria to retain or gain antibiotic resistance. You can avoid the unintended collateral damage to the gut microbiota, vaginal microbiota or skin microbiota. In particular, the gut microbiota has an enormous impact on the immune system as well as the hormonal, CNS, cardiovascular, and other vital systems in the body.”

With their narrow specificity, precision antibiotics should lack the wide-ranging side effects of conventional antibiotics — so they could be considered for prophylactic use, to prevent rather than cure infections. Though the pharma industry is traditionally averse to prophylaxis, physician demand for better antibiotic solutions and payer demand for the potential costsavings of prevention could press the industry to alter its perspective.

AvidBiotics has another fascinating technology in its Micacide proteins, which single out cells emitting signals of stress from viral infection or cancer. Although the antiviral angle is impressive, the oncology application is especially fascinating now, amidst the rise of cancer immunotherapy. Martin believes Micacide proteins may be another major key to unlocking the immune system to fight cancer, alongside the checkpoint inhibitors and other contenders for immunotherapy combinations.

Vital Statistics

Employees: 17
Headquarters: South San Francisco, CA

Finances:

Raised $31M
Various sources — founding management, individual investors, NIH grants, corporate collaborations and investments, equity and R&D support.
Research partnership funding
DuPont – Food Safety R&D; Cubist/Merck – Microbiome and targeted antibacterials; Zoetis – Animal Health R&D.

Latest Updates

March 24, 2015: Publication (mBio) describes animal efficacy of bactericidal (Avidocin) protein very specific for Clostridium difficile.
February 2014: MICA-based bispecific (Micacide) protein demonstrated efficacy in xenografted human solid tumors in mice.