SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation (NYSE MKT: APHB), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of therapies for antibiotic-resistant infections using bacteriophage technology, announces publication of a case study highlighting the successful treatment of a critically ill patient with a multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) infection. The manuscript, “Development and use of personalized bacteriophage-based therapeutic cocktails to treat a patient with a disseminated resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection,” was published in the peer-reviewed journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and can be found here. This case study was also featured in a July 2, 2017 Washington Post article, which can be found here.
The case study details a patient suffering from an abdominal A. baumannii infection whose condition deteriorated over a four-month period, despite multiple courses of antibiotics, and became comatose. AmpliPhi was involved in a joint effort, which included several academic institutions and a U.S. Navy laboratory, to produce a bacteriophage therapy targeted to the bacterial strain infecting the patient. The therapy was administered under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Emergency IND, and the patient emerged from his coma. The infection was cleared and the patient returned to health.
Robert T. “Chip” Schooley, M.D., Professor of Medicine at University of California, San Diego, who treated the patient and is the corresponding author of the paper, remarked, “Phage therapy is a very well-tolerated and potent therapeutic approach that can benefit patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. It has the potential to help patients with multiple types of infections who have limited therapeutic options and, as a consequence, face severe disability or death."
“At AmpliPhi, we are now developing our lead therapeutic candidates, AB-SA01 and AB-PA01 targeting multidrug-resistant S. aureus and P. aeruginosa infections, under expanded access guidelines by treating individual patients who have failed multiple courses of antibiotics and have few or no satisfactory treatment options,” said Paul C. Grint, M.D., CEO of AmpliPhi Biosciences. “We expect this strategy to validate the clinical utility of our therapies by early 2018 and position us to initiate further efficacy clinical trials later that year.”
About Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages (phages) are naturally occurring viruses that selectively kill bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Phages are the most abundant organisms on Earth and have evolved not only to kill bacteria directly, but also to penetrate and disrupt biofilms, and have been shown to restore antibiotic sensitivity to drug-resistant bacteria.
About AmpliPhi Biosciences
AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on treating antibiotic-resistant infections using its proprietary bacteriophage-based technology. AmpliPhi’s lead product candidates target multidrug-resistant S. aureus and P. aeruginosa, which are included on the WHO’s 2017 Priority Pathogens List. Phage therapeutics are uniquely positioned to address the threat of antibiotic-resistance as they can be precisely targeted to kill select bacteria, have a differentiated mechanism of action, can penetrate and disrupt biofilms (a common bacterial defense mechanism against antibiotics), are potentially synergistic with antibiotics and have been shown to restore antibiotic sensitivity to drug-resistant bacteria. For more information visit www.ampliphibio.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements about the potential benefits of phage therapy and the potential use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections, including infections that do not respond to antibiotics; AmpliPhi’s development of bacteriophage-based therapies; and AmpliPhi’s strategy for developing its lead therapeutic candidates through treatment of individual patients under compassionate-use guidelines, including the expected validation of the clinical utility of AmpliPhi’s therapies by early 2018 and the ability to potentially initiate efficacy clinical trials in 2018; and other potential benefits expected from this strategy. Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “may,” “goal,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements necessarily contain these identifying words. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with AmpliPhi’s business and financial condition and the other risks and uncertainties described in AmpliPhi’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as filed with the SEC, and AmpliPhi’s subsequent filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and AmpliPhi undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.