As part of the collaboration, Phytobiotech will supply purified, plant-derived small molecules (phytochemicals) from their PurePhytoLib library to Microbiotix, who will screen these novel phytochemicals in order to identify compounds that inhibit the DNA polymerases of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial pathogens (Bacto-III screen). The PurePhytoLib library will also be used in the Microbiotix permeabilized bacterial cell screen (Replix screen).

A. Kirk Field, Microbiotix's President and Chief Scientific Officer, remarked: "Microbiotix is very excited about our research and screening collaboration with Phytobiotech. Nature is an excellent source of chemical diversity and Phytobiotech's innovative technologies have finally made natural products compatible with today's high-throughput drug discovery processes. We anticipate identifying drug candidates that can be rapidly advanced for clinical evaluation."

Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Jean Archambault, President and CEO of Phytobiotech, said: "Screening our PurePhytoLib library of purified phytochemicals against innovative and important therapeutic targets is our number one priority. The goal of our collaboration with Microbiotix, to identify treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, matches perfectly with this priority."