Therapeutics
As pathogens are becoming resistant to currently available therapeutics, new strategies are urgently needed to combat infectious disease. According to the CDC's report Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2013, "more than two million people are sickened every year with antibiotic-resistant infections, with at least 23,000 dying as a result." Consequently, Guild BioSciences is investigating the use of Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers, commonly referred to as PMOs or Morpholinos, as target-specific therapeutics against challenging pathogens. Morpholinos are a type of antisense technology that bind to the mRNA of a target gene, inhibiting protein translation. This process can inhibit or kill the target pathogen, block its ability to cause infection, or negate its ability to resist the effects of existing antimicrobials. Morpholinos are a third-generation antisense technology and hold several advantages over earlier generations.
Morpholino advantages over previous antisense generations:
- Increased stability - Resistant to nuclease degradation
- High affinity for target sequences
- Increased specificity
- Decreased toxicity
- Increased efficacy