New data on antibiotic alternative presented at Royal Society of Medicine innovations summit

April 23, 2015 - PRLog -- [23 April 2015] Micreos (http://www.micreos.com/), a Dutch biotech company, presented data on the potential use of endolysins as an alternative to antibiotics at the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) Medical Innovations Spring Summit. Endolysins are naturally occurring enzymes that kill bacteria in an efficient and targeted way.

Data presented showed that Staphefekt™ (an endolysin) kills Staphylococcus aureus - including MRSA - without inducing bacterial resistance¹. Staphefekt™ is specific to its target species, leaving beneficial bacteria unharmed. This makes it suitable for longer-term ‘maintenance therapy’, as it can be used in the early stages of the Colonisation-Infection Continuum in certain patient populations, for example in S. aureus-related skin conditions, such as eczema, acne and rosacea. Data presented showed reduced symptoms of inflammation in these conditions². Staphefekt™ is the first endolysin available for human use.

At a time when the Department of Health is prioritising the fight against antimicrobial resistance, stressing that there are few public health issues of greater importance³, Mark Offerhaus (CEO) and Bjorn Herpers (Clinical Microbiologist and Medical Advisor) of Micreos discussed the concept of the Colonisation-Infection Continuum and how endolysin technology can combat pathogenic bacteria before colonisation leads to infection, enabling a novel approach to anti-bacterial therapy.

Mark Offerhaus said: “Endolysin technology enables us to deal with the bacteria around us in a completely different way, preserving beneficial species, and the biodiversity of the bacteria on our skin. This is necessary, and it represents a paradigm shift, allowing for prophylactic and maintenance treatment of bacterial skin diseases at an early stage, alleviating pressure on antibiotics in these indications and preserving antibiotics for when we really need them.”

Dr Bjorn Herpers said: “The results demonstrate the potential this technology has for effective action in the earlier stages of the Colonisation-Infection Continuum. The UK Five-Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013 to 2018 outlines the need for new strategies for the treatment of bacterial infections, and this could be one of the answers.”

Products containing Staphefekt for skin-conditions with an infectious component are sold under the Gladskin brand. Micreos makes Staphefekt XDR.300 against S. aureus and MRSA available for free for research purposes.

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For more information contact:

George Hickling GHickling@saycomms.co.uk / 02089716406 (mailto:GHickling@saycomms.co.uk%20/%2002089716406)

Annie Aulds aaulds@saycomms.co.uk

References

1)     Herpers BL et al. Specific lysis of methicillin susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus by the endolysin Staphefekt SA.100™. 24^th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2014

2)     Micreos data on file

3)     Public England Health, Department of Health, Behaviour change and antibiotic prescribing in healthcare settings, February 2015 p 22-23

Notes to editors

For a video illustrating how endolysins work, see: https://www.staphefekt.com/en/

About Micreos

Micreos (http://www.micreos.com/) develops antibacterial solutions based on phage technology as a replacement for antibiotics in health care, veterinary medicine, the food processing industry and agriculture. The company has production facilities in Wageningen and Bilthoven. Micreos has a long-term cooperation with the Swiss federal technology institute ETH in Zürich. Gladskin is a Micreos Human Health brand for people with skin problems. In The Netherlands and Germany over 15,000 people with skin conditions with an infectious component, such as acne, eczema and rosacea, have used Staphefekt™ in creams and gels, with a user satisfaction rate of over 80% (see: gladskin.com (http://www.gladskin.com)).

Micreos has also developed FDA-approved products for food safety against Salmonella (SALMONELEX™) and Listeria (LISTEX™).

See www.micreos.com for further information.