AvidBiotics granted U.S. and European patents concerning its DGR technology platform

Nov 13 2009

AvidBiotics Corp. announced the issuance of foundational patents encompassing a completely novel mechanism for generating massive diversity within precisely targeted sites of protein-encoding DNA sequences. The technology platform is referred to as Diversity Generating Retroelements (DGR) and patents were issued in both the United States (#7,585,957) and in Europe (#1,173,995). UCLA and AvidBiotics Corp are co-assignees of the patents, and AvidBiotics holds exclusive, worldwide rights to the patents from UCLA.

"These patents substantiate the novel ground-breaking work of our co-founder, Jeffrey F. Miller, and could lead to an entirely new, more efficient way of creating new protein therapeutics and improving the safety and/or efficacy of existing therapeutic proteins", said David Martin, Jr., chief executive officer of AvidBiotics. "Due to the magnitude of potential diversification and unique functionality, the DGR system as a technology platform could also enable the creation of new diagnostic reagents. At AvidBiotics, we are using this exciting technology to discover and develop novel antibacterials, antivirals and anti-cancer agents."

The advantages of the DGR system over more traditional tools include: 1) the unprecedented size of library diversity; 2) the ease of use; 3) the focused nature of the mutations; and 4) the ability to keep repeating the mutagenic cycles without loss of the protein scaffold or previous gains.

AvidBiotics' focus is to utilize the DGR system to diversify natural R-type pyocins (Avidocin(TM) proteins) to target problematic pathogens affecting human health and the safety of the food supply, for example, Clostridium difficile and E. coli O157:H7, respectively. Additionally, the company is modifying a known mechanism and scaffold using the DGR to target highly virulent viral pathogens of interest to the biodefense community.