Toxin-Phage Bacteriocide Antibiotic and Uses Thereof

Summary The rise of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains will necessitate the development of new strategies for treating bacterial infections. One potential alternative to conventional antibiotics is phage therapy - the use of bacteriophage viruses to specifically target and destroy disease-causing bacteria. This invention is based in part on the development of intracellular peptide and peptide-like toxins that are toxic to a cell when internalized, but non-toxic when outside the cell. Such toxins are useful in the production of recombinant bacteriophages that effectively function as bacteriocides. The peptide toxins of the invention might also be used to kill other types of unwanted cells, e.g., cancer cells. The invention provides intracellular peptide toxins, recombinant bacteriophage containing nucleic acid sequences encoding the peptide toxins, and compositions and methods of using such bacteriophage to kill bacteria in vitro and in vivo.

Applications Treatment of bacterial infections; bacteriocides; antibiotics; phage therapy For Further Information Please Contact the Director of Business Development Laura Brass Email: [email protected] Telephone: (617) 495-3067

Inventor(s): Schaak, Diane

Type of Offer: Licensing



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