PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Peptilogics, a biotech company engineering peptide therapeutics to improve the treatment landscape for patients with life-threatening diseases, will participate in the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) 32nd Annual Open Scientific Meeting taking place in Pittsburgh August 5-6. This pinnacle event will feature a multidisciplinary scientific forum for the advancement of knowledge in the field of musculoskeletal infection and contribute to the education of clinicians and researchers to guide patient care.

With MSIS taking place in Pittsburgh this year, Peptilogics is hosting an opening night reception Thursday, August 4^th. In addition, Peptilogics will participate in two podium talks and one poster presentation:

Podium Talks:

• Prospective ex vivo activity of an engineered antimicrobial peptide, PLG0206, on chronic periprosthetic joint infection total knee arthroplasty components: The Knee Explant Analysis (KnEA)
  Friday, August 5
  9:53-9:59 a.m. ET

• An Engineered Antimicrobial Peptide, PLG0206, Reduces Biofilm Mass and Increases Survival in a Rabbit Model of Staphylococcus aureus Periprosthetic Joint Infection
  Friday, August 5
  10:07-10:13 a.m. ET

Poster:

• The Engineered Antimicrobial Peptide PLG0206 has High Biofilm and Planktonic Activity Against Multi-Drug Resistant ESKAPE Organisms

“Every year, more than one million joint replacement surgeries take place in the U.S., and 2% of those patients develop a PJI,” said Ken Urish, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and Associate Medical Director of the Bone and Joint Center at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and study co-author. “As an orthopedic surgeon, I am thrilled to see and work on desperately needed new treatment options such as Peptilogics’ PLG0206 in preclinical and clinical development. PLG0206 represents an important alternative to traditional antibiotic treatments that have limited effectiveness in treating these infections.”

“PJI is a devastating condition with a five-year mortality rate of 25%, greater than many cancers, and there is an urgent need for treatments for PJI,” said David Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Peptilogics. “PLG0206 is an antimicrobial peptide intended to address the key challenges of PJI, including inactivating the biofilm bacteria that make these infections so difficult to treat. We are encouraged that the Phase 1b study is currently enrolling and honored by the opportunity to lead these important discussions at the prestigious MSIS Annual Meeting taking place this year near Peptilogics’ headquarters in Pittsburgh.”

Dr. Urish has a financial interest in Peptilogics.

Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X. CARB-X’s funding for this project is sponsored by the Other Transaction Agreement Number 75A50122C00028 from ASPR/BARDA and by an award from Wellcome. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders.

About PLG0206

PLG0206 is an investigational, broad-spectrum, anti-biofilm, anti-infective peptide therapeutic currently in clinical development for the treatment of PJI. PLG0206 was designed with a unique mechanism of action that allows it to directly address persistent bacterial pathogens within the biofilm that evade standard-of-care antibiotics by targeting and disrupting bacterial membranes to trigger bacterial cell death. In both in vitro and non-clinical studies, PLG0206 has demonstrated best-in-class, rapidly bactericidal, broad-spectrum activity against a variety of pathogens including those identified by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as critical, urgent or high-priority targets, regardless of resistance phenotype. PLG0206 has been granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of PJI and has also been designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP).

About Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI)

More than one million total joint replacements are performed annually in the U.S., a number that is expected to grow to three million annual procedures by 2030 due to an aging and active population. Following joint replacement, approximately 2% of patients will develop a PJI, a serious life-threatening condition, which often necessitates continuous antibiotic usage, multiple high-risk surgical procedures and implant removal with limited ability to resolve the infection. The current standard of care has up to a 60% four-year failure rate and results in a substantial number of patient deaths, evidenced by a 25% five-year mortality rate.

About Peptilogics

Peptilogics engineers peptide therapeutics to radically improve the treatment landscape for patients with life-threatening diseases. Through biological and pharmaceutical expertise, novel artificial intelligence algorithms and purpose-built super-computing, Peptilogics is advancing an extensive therapeutic pipeline and accelerating discovery efforts at a pace and scale that was previously impossible. Peptilogics is backed by visionary investors in life science and technology including Peter Thiel, Presight Capital, Founders Fund, CARB-X and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For more information about Peptilogics, visit www.peptilogics.com or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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