Eligo Bioscience, Paris, France
https://eligo.bio/

EB004 – PHAGE-CRISPR
NON-TRADITIONAL BACTERIOPHAGE
Prevention of MDR infections in Microbiome

Eligo is developing an innovative CRISPR-based bacteriophage therapeutic that aims to specifically kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria before an infection has a chance to occur in the gut of organ-transplant patients. The goal is to significantly reduce the risk of antibiotic treatment failures (and subsequent deaths). Eligo’s technology transforms bacteriophages into safe, non-replicative DNA-delivery vectors. The vectors are programmed to inject a synthetic DNA payload directly into the target bacterial populations of the patient’s gastrointestinal tract. The DNA payload is optimized to circumvent bacterial defense mechanisms and enables the expression of a CRISPR-Cas system that creates double strand DNA breaks only in antibiotic resistance genes carried by the targeted bacteria. This mechanism leads to the selective killing of bacteria carrying these genes, while a patient’s bacteria that do not carry these genes are left unharmed. If successful, the EB004 program could pave the way for personalized decolonization treatments to improve patient care, antibiotic stewardship, and patient prognosis, without disrupting the patient’s beneficial microbiota.

Current Development Stage: Hit-to-lead

CARB-X Investment: Initial investment of up to $1.82m with potential option payments up to $5.23m.

Initial CARB-X Investment Date: April 1, 2020