Transforming Antimicrobial Therapy Through Synthetic Biology
Phages, natural predators of bacteria, have been in an uninterrupted battle for millions of years — evolving to kill or evade. These powerful natural well-adapted phages can be purposely engineered to be more efficient killers. The use of synthetic biology tools enables Armata to precisely engineer natural phages in ways that further improve their pharmacological properties and antimicrobial activity. Attributes of engineered phages can include expanded host range, improved potency which is a fundamental drug property that can translate into improved clinical efficacy, and importantly, biofilm disruption, which is a critical aspect of serious infections that needs to be addressed.
Armata is harnessing its proprietary synthetic phage platform to develop targeted therapeutics for the treatment of various multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.
Phage Discovery and Phenotyping
Development of synthetic phage products that target a specific pathogen begins with the isolation of powerful natural phages from environmental and clinical samples. Armata’s large library of multidrug-resistant pathogens (e.g. ESKAPE pathogens) and microbiome targets aids in identification of the optimal phage candidates for downstream engineering.
Bioinformatics Powers Engineering
Armata employs next-generation sequencing, proprietary sequencing databases and software, bioinformatics, and comparative genomics, for the analyses of our phages.
Engineering Host and Phage to Confer Desirable Properties
Depending on the target pathogen, identified natural phages are engineered to enable desirable phenotypes such as wide host range, payload expression, biofilm degradation, resistance prevention, and bioactive peptide display. Engineered phages are evaluated both in vitro and in vivo to determine pharmacological and toxicological parameters to confirm their potential in the clinic.
Formulation Development and CMC
Armata has developed and acquired highly skilled process development and phage manufacturing expertise to manage its proprietary platforms with proven capabilities from the bench to clinic. Our research and development facilities are equipped with cGMP manufacturing suites enabling the production, purification, and testing and release of reproducible batches of phage clinical trial material exhibiting high purity and high titer designed to be tolerated for both intravenous and inhaled administration.
