Stadius Biopharma to Present Data on Fully Human Antibodies for the Treatment of Candida Infections

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Stadius Biopharma LLC will present data on its fully human antibodies to Candida at the upcoming Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics meeting December 9 – 13, 2019 in San Diego.  The antibodies protect mice from death in lethal mouse models of both C. albicans and C. auris.

Human antibodies to two peptides derived from the C. albicans cell wall associated proteins Fba and MET6 are present in human sera.  Six fully human recombinant antibodies have been isolated and preliminary characterizations performed.  Two of the antibodies, one to the Fba peptide and one to the MET6 peptide, have been tested in animal models and show protection in lethal mouse models for C. albicans and C. auris. The antibodies may function independently of Fc-mediated host functions.  These results demonstrate that anti-peptide antibodies to Fba and to MET6 may be useful as human therapeutics for the prophylaxis and treatment of disseminated candidiasis.

"Our data suggests that human antibodies to peptides derived from conserved sequences of novel virulence factors associated with the Candida albicans cell wall will bind and disrupt the pathology of various species of Candida, including C. auris, a deadly pathogen," said Russell B. Wilson, Ph.D., the Company's Chief Science Officer.  "This is a novel mechanistic approach for the treatment of invasive candidiasis," he said.

About Invasive Candidiasis
Invasive Candida infection can present with high morbidity and mortality in immunosuppressed populations and is the most frequent hospital infection, accounting for up to 15% of bloodstream infections.  Candida species are the main causative agents in 50–70% of systemic fungal infections.

C. auris has emerged as a life-threatening infection and is increasing in incidence worldwide. There are currently no effective agents.  It is a significant threat for patients at risk and potentially the general population (https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candida-auris/index.html).

Prophylaxis of Candida can range from months to life-long in higher risk groups in solid organ transplant patients.  Current oral medications may involve toxicity as well as lack of compliance and recurrence of infection, resulting in potentially costly and life-threatening outcomes.

About Stadius Biopharma
Stadius is a biotechnology company focused on using antibody mining to develop proprietary fully human antibody therapeutics for the prophylaxis and treatment of patients with resistant and potentially life threatening viral, bacterial, and fungal infections which are inadequately addressed by current standard-of-care medicines.  The Company is also developing a novel universal donor non-viral gene-modified somatic stem cell platform to deliver antibodies in chronically immunocompromised patients.

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SOURCE Stadius Biopharma LLC