5 Jan 2015 07:00
4D pharma plc
(the 'Company' or '4D')
Research Update
4D Pharma plc (AIM: DDDD), a pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of live biotherapeutics, today provides the following research update on Blautix™ for the treatment of Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
4D has been working towards its goal of bringing new therapeutics to the clinic in 2015, and has made significant steps in its understanding and modelling of disease to enable the Company to better develop medicines of the future. Through its work on the Blautix™ programme, 4D has developed a method for humanising disease models (in this case IBS) using the gut microbiome of patients. This allows 4D to better study the effects and likely outcome of its therapeutics targeting IBS and it may also be applicable to other diseases. The humanised disease models are expected to more faithfully reproduce the conditions in the gut of patients and therefore enable the effects of targeted therapeutics to be assessed more accurately.
Dr Alex Stevenson, Chief Scientific Officer of 4D, stated: "The models developed demonstrate the effect of Blautix™ in an environment that closely resembles that of an IBS patient, which is extremely useful in helping 4D towards its target of a first in man study in Q2 2015. We are excited by the possibility that using this new approach in other disease models will further help the development of our pipeline of live biotherapeutics by more accurately replicating the interactions between our therapeutics, the human microbiome and the underlying causes of disease."
For further information please contact:
4D | + 44 (0) 161 837 6205 |
Duncan Peyton, Chief Executive Officer
| |
Zeus Capital Limited - Nomad and Broker | |
Ross Andrews/Dan Bate | +44 (0) 161 831 1512 |
Dominic Wilson | +44 (0) 20 7533 7727 |
Note to Editors - Background on IBS
IBS is a functional bowel disorder characterised by discomfort, pain and changes in bowel habits. It is estimated that the prevalent population within the US and EU is 70 million, with the UK exhibiting the greatest prevalence of 15-20%. Despite the prevalence, there are currently few approved treatment options, all of which focus on the modulation of symptoms of constipation or diarrhoea associated with IBS.
Symptoms can be mild, moderate or severe. Mild symptoms, which occur infrequently, can sometimes interfere with normal daily functioning. Moderate symptoms are more intense, occur more frequently, and often interfere with daily functioning. Severe symptoms chronically interfere with daily functioning. Severe IBS effects approximately 300,000 in the US, with global sales of treatments targeting this market segment expected to surpass $1.3bn by 2020.