Intralytix, Inc. receives a U.S. Army award in support of studies on bacteriophages and the food microbiome.

Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. November 29, 2017. Intralytix, Inc. announced today that it has received a U.S. Army award in support of the studies on elucidating the interaction of bacteriophages with bacteria in various food matrixes. The project will also examine the impact of selected food safety interventions on the food microbiome.

"There is a growing body of evidence that diet is an important factor influencing the human gut microbiome; however, there have been very few studies that have examined the microbiome associated with the food products themselves. To understand the impact of food microbiomes on human health, it is first necessary to establish the baseline microbiome of common food items" stated Alexander Sulakvelidze, Intralytix's Executive Vice-President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Company, and Principal Investigator of the Army contract.

"One intriguing aspect of the study is to examine how commonly used food interventions might impact the normal bacterial composition of the foods" Dr. Sulakvelidze added. "As it is increasingly recognized, many of the bacteria naturally present in foods are beneficial to us and they help maintain healthy microbiomes when ingested with foods. Yet, those beneficial bacteria may be "collateral damage" of common food safety interventions that do not discriminate between disease-causing bacteria and beneficial bacteria in foods. Therefore, alternative food safety interventions that can specifically target pathogenic bacteria, but not the natural, beneficial bacterial community in the foods, offer an exciting approach for improving the safety of foods without negatively impacting its nutritional value, or shifting the microbiota towards less desirable populations. We believe that bacteriophage products offer such an intervention tool, and we are pleased that the US Army found these studies worthy of their support."

"Intralytix is the world leader in developing bacteriophage-based preparations for various applications" commented John Woloszyn, Intralytix's CEO. He added "Our company has the largest number of FDA- and USDA- approved phage preparations for food safety applications in the World. This project, supported by the US Army Natick RD&E Center, further strengthens our company's R&D efforts in that field. The results are expected to improve our knowledge of the food microbiome, and ultimately result in safer and better-quality food products for the consumers."

For more information, contact John Woloszyn (410-625-3813 / jwoloszyn@intralytix.com) or Dr. Alexander Sulakvelidze (410-625-2533 / asulakvelidze@intralytix.com).