PHIOGEN, INC

• TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY

  UEI THL6A6JLE1S7

  $439K

  Subcontractor to this prime · 1 sub-award · latest Jul 24, 2025

  • Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
  • “PHIOGEN’S MISSION IS TO EXPLORE THE MICROBIAL WORLD FOR BACTERIOPHAGES WITH NOVEL THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA HIGHLIGHT A BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERY WITH A FIRST-IN-CLASS SOLUTION OF DUAL ACTION THERAPEUTICS: A SERIES OF PHAGES THAT NOT ONLY DEMONSTRATE STRONG EFFICACY AGAINST ANTIMICROBIAL-RESISTANT (AMR) BACTERIA BUT ALSO CONFERRED LONG-TERM PROTECTION AGAINST REINFECTION WITHOUT REQUIRING A SECOND TREATMENT. THE LEADING HYPOTHESIS IS THAT CERTAIN PHAGES, BY UNIQUELY LYSING OUR BACTERIAL TARGETS, ELICIT A PROINFLAMMATORY RESPONSE THAT SUBSEQUENTLY ACTIVATES ADAPTIVE IMMUNITY AGAINST SPECIFIC BACTERIAL ANTIGENS. THIS IMMUNE PRIMING MAY PREVENT FUTURE INFECTIONS. TRADITIONALLY, MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS HAVE BEEN EITHER PROACTIVE (E.G., VACCINES) OR REACTIVE (E.G., THERAPIES). THE DISCOVERY AND INVESTIGATION PRESENTED HERE IS HIGHLY INNOVATIVE AND SIGNIFICANT, AS WE SUGGEST A NEW CLASS OF DUAL ACTION THERAPEUTICS, ONES THAT ACTS BOTH AS A TREATMENT AND INDUCES A PROTECTIVE RESPONSE AGAINST A SECOND INFECTION. GLOBALLY, SIX BACTERIAL SPECIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE 5 MILLION ANNUAL DEATHS DUE TO ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE, THE SO-CALLED "ESKAPE" SPECIES. WITH THE BACKING OF VARIOUS FUNDERS AND COLLABORATORS, PHIOGEN HAS ASSEMBLED A COLLECTION OF DOZENS OF NOVEL PHAGES TARGETING THESE HIGH-PRIORITY AMR PATHOGENS. FOR THESE PATHOGENS, THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS ARE SCARCE, AND NO VACCINES CURRENTLY EXIST. DEMONSTRATING THAT SOME OF THESE PHAGES POSSESS DUAL THERAPY-IMMUNIZATION PROPERTIES WOULD REPRESENT A PARADIGM SHIFT IN INFECTIOUS DISEASE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION.”

No reported sub-awards as a prime contractor.

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