Lyon, France, and Cambridge, MA, USA, October 2023, PHAXIAM Therapeutics (Nasdaq & Euronext: PHXM) and Vetophage, a Lyon-based company specializing in phage therapy for animal health, have announced a significant long-term strategic research partnership. This collaboration aims to harness their collective expertise in researching novel phages and phage-derived proteins (endolysins) to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Vetophage, established in 2017, is a biotechnology company located in Lyon. It is dedicated to developing innovative tools for detecting pathogenic bacteria and providing alternative solutions to antibiotics by utilizing phages and endolysins, with a focus on addressing antimicrobial resistance in animals.
Leveraging its advanced technological platform, Vetophage possesses a wide array of capabilities for the discovery, identification, and characterization of phages and endolysins. This partnership will allow PHAXIAM Therapeutics to tap into Vetophage’s extensive phage and endolysin library, with a specific focus on highly antimicrobial-resistant infections.
Under the terms of the agreement, PHAXIAM Therapeutics gains exclusive licensing options for designated phages and endolysins in human health derived from Vetophage’s platform. This move strengthens PHAXIAM’s product portfolio significantly. Moreover, this strategic collaboration lays the foundation for potential future research and industrial partnerships, harnessing PHAXIAM’s expertise to further advance their efforts in combating antimicrobial resistance.
Thibaut Du Fayet, Chief Executive Officer of PHAXIAM Therapeutics, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “The agreement with Vetophage is a significant milestone for PHAXIAM Therapeutics’ development in the fight against severe resistant infections. We have a longstanding interest in Vetophage’s work, and we are delighted to collaborate with such a recognized player in the veterinary field. This partnership reinforces our phage expertise and strengthens our competitive position, enabling us to rapidly expand our phage portfolio for our most strategic programs. It also facilitates our entry into the field of endolysins, which are highly complementary to phages in our clinical applications.”
Mai-Huong Chatain, President of Vetophage, emphasized the strategic importance of this partnership, stating, “This new long-term agreement confirms the relevance of our strategy and the value of our bacteriophage expertise. The potential synergies between the infrastructure developed by PHAXIAM Therapeutics and our own technological platform are significant and will enable us to capitalize on our common knowledge of phage therapy to develop innovative treatments as quickly as possible, and thus fight antimicrobial-resistant infections in humans and animals.”
Florence Agostino-Etchetto, Chief Executive Officer of Lyonbiopôle, concluded on a positive note, “I’m particularly proud of this collaboration between two Lyon-based biotech companies, both members of the Lyonbiopôle cluster and pioneers in their respective fields. This partnership, structured around the fight against antimicrobial resistance, a critical public health issue recognized worldwide, is an illustration of the dynamism and advanced level of maturity of our regional ecosystem around infectious diseases, in which our members are particularly involved. I am convinced that this partnership will contribute to the development of the French phage therapy industry, now recognized as a strategic and sovereign technology at the European level.”
About Vetophage
Vetophage is an innovative company dedicated to the research and development of innovative solutions in the field of veterinary biotechnology. Founded in 2017, located in Saint-Priest (Lyon region), and with a team of 10 highly specialized employees, Vetophage leverages strong skills in the use of phages and phage-derived proteins to combat bacterial diseases in animals. Its technological platform is used to develop therapeutic and detection tools for animal health. For more information, please visit www.vetophage.fr.
About PHAXIAM Therapeutics
PHAXIAM is a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative treatments for resistant bacterial infections, which are responsible for many serious infections. The company employs an innovative approach based on the use of phages, natural bacterial-killing viruses. PHAXIAM is currently developing a portfolio of phages targeting three of the most resistant and dangerous bacteria, which together account for more than two-thirds of resistant hospital-acquired infections: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
PHAXIAM is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market in the United States (ticker: PHXM) and on the Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0011471135, ticker: PHXM). PHAXIAM is part of the CAC Healthcare, CAC Pharma & Bio, CAC Mid & Small, CAC All Tradable, EnterNext PEA-PME 150, and Next Biotech indexes.
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