"We are creating novel synthetic, antimicrobial materials to address the need for products which can safely reduce the risk of infection"
PolyCide®
Antimicrobial additives are used in many different products, such as medical devices, wound dressings, fabrics, and numerous consumer products, both to protect the product from antimicrobial growth as well as for public health reasons. There is an increasing demand for products that safely reduce the risk of microbial infection. To meet this healthcare need, PolyMedix has created synthetic antimicrobial materials (PolyCide®) that can be directly incorporated into other materials or used on product surfaces. Our PolyCide materials, including PolyDentix™ (our antimicrobial materials for dental applications) use the same mechanism of action as the natural host defense proteins and PolyMedix’s lead antibiotic drug, PMX-30063, in that they selectively target and puncture the bacterial cell membrane. The presence of PolyCide in products is intended to reduce the growth of bacteria on these products.
PolyCide materials offer a number of important and significant advantages:
- Broad spectrum of activity – Active against both Gram-negative bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria (including MRSA), as well as fungi.
- Rapid bactericidal activity
- Improved Safety – Selectivity for microbes provides a higher degree of safety than many antimicrobials in use today.
- Active against antibiotic resistant bacteria and low likelihood to elicit resistance
- Compatibility with other materials – PolyCide can be incorporated into a wide variety of materials and formulations (various plastics, solvents, etc.) without loss of antimicrobial activity.
Market Opportunity/Partnership Strategy
There is tremendous demand for antimicrobial additives in consumer goods and medical products to reduce contamination and exposure to potentially harmful microbes. Typical antimicrobials in use are silver, quaternary amines or triclosan, all based on relatively old technologies that have come into question with respect to limited efficacy and the development of bacterial resistance. The PolyCides are novel antimicrobials that are based on mimicking the host defense proteins, the same mechanism of action used by nature to combat bacteria.
Given the many areas of application for PolyCide, partnering is an essential component of PolyMedix’s strategy to fully realize the vast opportunity. The company is actively engaged in discussions with companies in the biomedical, industrial, and consumer products areas, and seeks cooperative agreements with industrial partners.