Highly productive discovery platform
Using over two decades of world-leading research into the role of the microbiome and its influence on our immune system, 4D has built a proprietary platform – known as MicroRx® – to rapidly select those bacteria that have a therapeutic effect in specific diseases.
MicroRx® is able to rapidly interrogate our proprietary library of bacterial isolates for therapeutic functionality. This is achieved in two ways: firstly, by identifying strains which have significant effects on the host; secondly, by targeting those diseases which are driven by pathways which match the host-response profile of the strain.
Rapid preclinical development
Using industry standard methods, as well as our proprietary disease models, we select our Live Biotherapeutics based on their efficacy and ability to be rapidly translated into a drug. 4D pharma understands the functionality of bacteria and their interaction with the human body. As this functionality has evolved over millions of years, allowing bacteria and host to co-exist, the Live Biotherapeutics developed by 4D pharma have attractive safety profiles.
Traditional pharmaceutical drug discovery involves multiple rounds of hit and lead optimization to identify a clinical candidate – a process which can take many years. As we do not need to optimize our Live Biotherapeutics from either a safety or an efficacy perspective, we can enter clinical development in as little as 24 months from the initiation of the program.
Overview of MicroRx®
Our MicroRx platform drives candidate discovery and development and is the most productive platform in the microbiome space. We use MicroRx® to interrogate our extensive library of bacterial isolates to identify Live Biotherapeutic candidates for a given disease based on a deep understanding of functionality and mechanism.
Why mechanism matters
Human gut bacteria contain thousands of genes. Understanding which of these genes – and their products – interact with the human body in a beneficial way is key to identifying new Live Biotherapeutics. Our scientists have deep expertise in microbiology, immunology and bioinformatics, which allows us to select our candidates based on an understanding of interactions at the molecular level.
