Ortek Therapeutics, Inc., a global leader in oral care innovations and microbiome technology, announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a patent for new methods to use new compositions to prevent or treat drug-resistant bacteria and suppress body odor.

US Patent 9,370,476, was issued to The Research Foundation of State University of New York (Albany, NY), an Ortek licensing partner, and is directed to topical application of a zinc and arginine-based composition to promote the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria and inhibit the growth of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in the skin and nasal atrium microbiomes. Staphylococcus aureus can become resistant to antiobiotics; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes thousands of invasive infections and deaths every year.

The patent will inhibit the growth and/or metabolism of odor-causing bacteria present in armpit, the feet and other parts of the human body.

Ortek holds exclusive international licensing rights to this patent, which was developed at Stony Brook University. The company is a leading innovator in developing technologies that modulate natural interactions in the body's microbiomes to maintain a desirable balance between beneficial bacteria and bacteria whose overgrowth can have unwanted consequences. It has successfully commercialized its groundbreaking microbiome technology in the field of oral care with advanced patented compositions for the prevention of dental cavities.

A practical application for the new technology is bacteriotherapy, a promising strategy to combat potential pathogens (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus). Unlike traditional antibacterial treatments, which kill all bacteria, the Ortek technology helps create favorable ecological conditions in the microbiome that enable Staphylococcus epidermidis to out-compete potentially harmful Staphylococcus aureus for the resources they need to proliferate.

In addition, the restoration and maintenance of normal microflora may be important for maintaining healthy skin and for managing skin diseases associated with microbial imbalance.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy recently announced a new National Microbiome Initiative (NMI) to foster the integrated study of microbiomes across different ecosystems. Ortek is poised to take advantage of opportunities in this growing field through its long-standing relationship with Israel Kleinberg DDS, PhD, DSc, who led the development of this new technology and is the Director of the Division of Translational Oral Biology at Stony Brook University. Dr. Kleinberg is an internationally recognized expert in the field of salivary and microbial research who has investigated the compositions, metabolisms and ecological conditions of oral and cutaneous bacterial communities for more than 40 years.

"Our research has significantly enhanced our understanding of microbiomes, both within and outside of the oral cavity," said Dr. Kleinberg. "We will continue our efforts to discover and develop new compositions that can help modify and maintain healthy microfloras."

"Scientific and financial communities have begun to recognize the wide variety of potential applications for microbiome technology," said Mitchell Goldberg, President of Ortek. "We are particularly excited about our new technology that could provide alternative or complementary options for preventing cutaneous and nasal atrium staph infections, including MRSA, and a new and natural way to inhibit body odor."

This new patented technology is intended for topical administration in various forms (soaps, sprays, drops, aerosols, powders, roll-ons, lotions, patches, ointments, etc.) for a wide array of over-the-counter and prescription products. Ortek is seeking licensing partners to further develop and commercialize new applications for its cutting-edge microbiome technology.