AmebaGone awarded NIH Phase II SBIR grant to advance bacterial keratitis treatment

NIH/NEI Phase II SBIR funds a two-year effort with UW–Madison to develop a predatory-microbe biotherapeutic for bacterial keratitis, targeting biofilm-protected pathogens.

AmebaGone Inc. has received NIH Phase II SBIR funding to develop a prototype biotherapeutic for bacterial keratitis (BK) using microorganisms that naturally prey on bacteria, including those protected within biofilms that antibiotics often fail to eliminate.

BK is an infection of the cornea that, if left untreated, can lead to blindness. This novel, biofilm-targeted approach could extend to other infectious diseases as an alternative to conventional antibiotics.

The grant, supported by the National Eye Institute (NIH) and executed in collaboration between AmebaGone and Professor Curtis Brandt's laboratory in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Ophthalmology department, funds two years of research on the safety and efficacy of treatments for BK caused by multiple bacterial species.