BiomX Wants To Reverse The Focus Of Microbiome Therapy

Although not yet in the clinic, BiomX Ltd. thinks it may be able to "zip through" clinical development once it starts testing its bacteriophage cocktail therapies intended to address microbiome-based diseases by subtracting, rather than adding, bacteria to the patient's digestive tract.

Based in Ness Ziona, Israel, the firm is working on a therapy to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by focusing on its underlying cause – which BiomX researchers believe derives from certain gut bacteria – by using a phage cocktail to kill targeted bacteria while sparing the rest of the microbiome. CEO Jonathan Solomon told Scrip that this approach is diametrically opposed to microbiome-focused companies such as Seres Therapeutics Inc