PRESS RELEASE - 11/26/2008
Baltimore, Maryland U.S.A. November 26, 2009 - - Intralytix, Inc., announced today that it has been named a recipient of a 2009 Army Commercialization Pilot Program (CPP) grant to support the development of a phage-based technology for eliminating or significantly reducing contamination of fruits, vegetables and red meat by E. coli 0157:H7. The grant is an outgrowth of prior Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the Army supporting Intralytix's food additive product, ECP 100. ECP 100 is a bacteriophage cocktail developed by Intralytix and tested effective against over 100 strains of E. coli 0157:H7. The product would be sprayed onto red meats, fruits and vegetables to substantially reduce or completely eliminate contamination by E. coli 0157:H7.
Under the Phase III grant, the Army will provide the company with funding to support the transition ECP 100 into the commercial marketplace, including business and transition plan development, potential investment needs planning and justification, and facilitation of meetings with potential private/or government customers.
"We are pleased that the Army has recognized the importance of our product and technology in ensuring the future safety of the American food supply" stated John D. Vazzana, Intralytix's CEO. He noted that "the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that over 76 million people get sick, 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 Americans die from food-borne illness annually." "E-coli 0157:H7 is one of the 7 food-borne organisms causing these problems," he added.
ECP 100 is the second phage-based food safety product developed by Intralytix. The company had already received FDA and EPA approval of its first food safety product, LMP 102, a product effective against Listeria monocytogenes. Commercial sales of LMP 102 have recently commenced.
Intralytix, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on improving human health through the development and commercialization of innovative products for food safety and human therapeutics using its core bacteriophage technology platform.
For more information, contact Dr. Alexander Sulakvelidze at 410-625-2533, or at asulakvelidze@intralytix.com.
Intralytix, Inc. 701 East Pratt Street Baltimore, MD 21202 www.intralytix.com