History of Oragenics
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Oragenics, Inc. was founded in 1996 by Dr. Jeffrey Hillman and Dr. Robert Zahradnik.
We are a biopharmaceutical company focusing on developing breakthrough technologies aimed at maintaining and improving human health conditions. Oragenics is committed to building long-term shareholder value by internally developing or in-licensing technologies and partnering with industry leaders to create novel therapies and diagnostic products. Dr. Jeffery Hillman began his basic research into the concept of replacement therapy for preventing dental caries or cavities in the late 1970s at the Forsyth Institute in Boston. He transferred his research to the University of Florida College of Dentistry in 1992. There, he continued to pursue the development of a genetically engineered strain of Streptococcus mutans that could help prevent cavities by replacing the body’s natural caries-causing strains of S. mutans. Currently in clinical trials, Oragenics’ patented SMaRT Replacement Therapy™ is a painless, one-time, five-minute treatment that has the potential to offer lifelong protection against tooth decay. Applied topically to the teeth with a swab, the therapy can be administered by dentists in the office or in the field. During his work with S. mutans, Dr. Hillman discovered MU 1140™, or a mutacin, a powerful lantibiotic that is produced by the bacterium in tiny amounts. This new broad-spectrum antibiotic has demonstrated activity against Gram-positive bacteria responsible for a variety of clinically important diseases, such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) and both growing and non-replicating Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells. Preclinical studies indicate that MU 1140 has the potential to replace current antibiotic drugs that are increasingly failing due to the development of bacterial resistance. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that bacteria resistant to known antibiotics cause 44% of hospital infections, which cause as many as 70,000 patient deaths per year. MU 1140 belongs to the novel class of molecules called lantibiotics, one of which was first discovered more than 80 years ago. However, there has never been a practical way to produce lantibiotics in sufficient amounts and with sufficient purity to enable comprehensive testing and commercial viability – until recently. In the fourth quarter of 2008, Oragenics announced the successful synthesis of the MU 1140 molecule through our patented organic chemistry synthesis platform, DPOLT™ (Differentially Protected Orthogonal Lantionine Technology). DPOLT would enable large-scale, cost-effective production of clinical grade MU 1140 and potentially 50 other known lantibiotics. This represents a substantial pipeline of antibiotics to replace ones that are currently failing, which could save 70,000 lives among U.S. hospital patients alone. Under the research leadership of Dr. Hillman, the company is also developing two proprietary platforms for the identification of genetic targets that can be used in diagnostic tests as well as in vaccines and therapeutics. PIVIAT™ (Proteomic-based In Vivo-Induced Antigen Technology) enables rapid identification of novel targets for use in the diagnosis and treatment of human infectious diseases. The method is faster, more cost effective and more sensitive than other methods currently in use. A tuberculosis project has yielded 44 novel targets for Mycobacterium tuberculosis that are currently being analyzed for their use in vaccine and diagnostic strategies. PCMAT™ (Proteomic-based Change Mediated Antigen Technology) rapidly identifies proteins and their genes that are expressed when a cell undergoes any sort of change. It has been used to identify proteins of both plants and pathogens that are expressed during infection. Such genes are excellent targets for manipulation to increase the resistance of the plant to infection. In a study on colorectal cancer, PCMAT has been used to identify novel proteins of human bowel cells that are expressed when the cell undergoes transformation to a cancerous cell. Such proteins are excellent targets for new diagnostics and therapeutic strategies. PCMAT has the potential to study an extraordinary range of medical and agricultural applications. |
