AmpliPhi BioSciences Corp., the leader in the development of bacteriophage-based antibacterial therapies to treat drug resistant infections, and Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company, have formed an exclusive channel collaboration (ECC) to develop new bacteriophage-based therapies to target specific antibiotic resistant infections, some of the most widespread and deadly types of infections.
The collaboration seeks to develop bacteriophage-containing human therapeutics for use in the treatment of bacterial infections associated with acute and chronic wounds, the treatment of acute and chronic P aeruginosa lung infections, and the treatment of infections of C. difficile.
Philip J Young, president and CEO of AmpliPhi, said, “The global market for anti-infective therapies is expected to reach $40 billion annually by 2014. Combining Intrexon’s synthetic biology technologies with our phage development expertise gives us the opportunity to develop and bring to market an important new generation of anti-infective therapies that have the potential to save or change the lives of millions of people.”
Randal J Kirk, CEO and chairman of the Board of Intrexon, added, “This collaboration with AmpliPhi should at last make practical the long-appreciated therapeutic potential of phage therapies, resulting in an armamentarium of new treatments for infectious diseases. We are delighted to get underway on this exciting programme.”
Under the terms of the ECC agreement, AmpliPhi will receive an exclusive, worldwide license to utilize Intrexon’s proprietary technology and expertise toward the standardized production of wild type phages, as well as for the design and production of genetically modified bacteriophages. Intrexon will apply its proprietary technologies, including the UltraVector platform, DNA and RNA MOD engineering, protein engineering, inducible gene systems, genome engineering, and cell systems engineering, to AmpliPhi’s bacteriophage programmes.
AmpliPhi will issue to Intrexon 24,000,000 shares of its common stock (representing approximately 26 per cent of Ampliphi’s outstanding shares after the issuance). The ECC also includes the potential for development milestones that are payable in equity or cash. In addition, AmpliPhi will pay Intrexon royalties on the net sales of products developed under the ECC.
Griffin Securities served as financial advisor to Intrexon in connection with the transaction.