Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT) is a clinical-stage company structured around providing an effective therapeutic response to the global rise of multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogenic bacteria. Designed to provide a unique capability to adapt to the emergence of future antibiotic-resistant superbugs, Adaptive Phage Therapeutics banks precision targeted, genomically screened, and highly purified phage collection is dynamically expanding in response to the emergence of new strains of bacterial superbugs. The company is developing phage-based therapies designed to target specific bacteria strains -- as contrasted with antibiotics, which target multiple types of bacteria. In January it was announced that the firm was in receipt of a non-SBIR DOD contract inthe amount of $10M for development of antibacterial phage therapies: Phages are viruses that infect and kill bacteria, and APTs scientific rationale is based on the fact that, in general, a single phage strain can only infect a single bacterial strain. According to the firm's web page, Adapative Phage uses genomic screening and purification of phages in its collection, identifying additional phages to use if bacteria develop resistance to them. By contrast, antibiotic drugs target multiple types of bacteria, but in recent years a growing number of drug-resistant strains have emerged.
