On April 2, 2018 Synlogic (Nasdaq:SYBX), a clinical-stage company applying synthetic biology to probiotic bacteria to develop novel living medicines, reported that the first patient was dosed in its Phase 1b/2a clinical trial of SYNB1020 (Press release, Synlogic, APR 2, 2018, View Source [SID1234525474]). SYNB1020 is a Synthetic Biotic medicine being developed for the treatment of hyperammonemia, associated with cirrhosis and urea cycle disorders (UCDs), which can result in severe and life-threatening consequences for patients. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of SYNB1020, as well as its ability to lower blood-ammonia levels in patients with cirrhosis and elevated blood ammonia.
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"Our recently reported Phase 1 trial of SYNB1020 demonstrated that this Synthetic Biotic medicine was well tolerated and provided a dose-dependent proof of mechanism, functioning as designed in healthy volunteers. We look forward to evaluating the safety, tolerability and therapeutic potential of SYNB1020 in patients with liver disease who have developed cirrhosis," said Aoife Brennan, M.B., B.Ch., Synlogic’s chief medical officer. "There is unmet medical need for additional treatment options for patients with chronic liver disease and we are excited by the potential of SYNB1020 in this indication."
Synthetic Biotic therapies are designed to function in the gastrointestinal tract to convert metabolites that can build up to toxic levels in the blood into harmless metabolites that can be excreted from the body. Elevated blood ammonia levels are toxic to the brain and can have severe consequences, including neurologic crises requiring hospitalization and resulting in irreversible cognitive damage and death. SYNB1020 is designed to consume ammonia and convert it to arginine, an amino acid.
About Synlogic’s Phase 1b/2a Trial of SYNB1020 in Patients with Cirrhosis
This Phase 1b/2a study has two parts:
First, an initial sentinel open-label cohort of subjects with cirrhosis and a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score < 12 will receive orally administered SYNB1020 (5 x 1011 CFU TID) for six days. Subjects will be admitted to an inpatient facility for a run-in diet, baseline assessments, safety monitoring, and collection of blood, urine, and fecal samples for the evaluation of safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of treatment. Once safety and tolerability have been established in these subjects, enrollment will be opened to subjects in Part 2.
Part 2 of the trial comprises a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study in patients with cirrhosis and hyperammonemia. Eligible subjects will be admitted to an inpatient facility for a run-in diet and 24-hour ammonia profile, and those with an elevated ammonia level will proceed with randomization and receive either placebo or orally administered SYNB1020 (5 x 1011 CFU TID) for six days. The primary endpoint of the study is safety and tolerability. In addition, the study will evaluate the effect of SYNB1020 administration on plasma ammonia levels as well as other exploratory endpoints.
Synlogic expects to report top-line data from this trial by year-end 2018. More information on this study can be found at View Source under the study ID NCT03447730.
About Hyperammonemia
Hyperammonemia is a metabolic condition characterized by an excess of ammonia in the blood. In healthy individuals, ammonia is primarily produced in the intestine as a byproduct of protein metabolism and microbial degradation of nitrogen-containing compounds. Ammonia is then converted to urea in the liver and is excreted in urine. However, if the liver’s ability to convert ammonia to urea is compromised, either due to a genetic defect such as UCDs or acquired liver disease that leads to cirrhosis, ammonia accumulates in the blood. Elevated blood ammonia levels are toxic to the brain and can have severe consequences, including neurologic crises requiring hospitalization, irreversible cognitive damage and death.
About Synthetic Biotic Medicines
Synlogic’s innovative new class of Synthetic Biotic medicines leverages the tools and principles of synthetic biology to genetically engineer probiotic microbes to perform or deliver critical functions missing or damaged due to disease. The company’s two lead programs, SYNB1020 and SYNB1618, target hyperammonemia as a result of liver damage or genetic disease, and phenylketonuria, respectively. Patients with these diseases are unable to break down commonly occurring by-products of digestion that then accumulate to toxic levels and cause serious health consequences. When delivered orally, Synthetic Biotic medicines can act from the gut to compensate for the dysfunctional metabolic pathway and have a systemic effect, with the potential to significantly improve symptoms of disease for affected patients. Synlogic has earlier-stage programs that apply the broad potential of its Synthetic Biotic platform in other disease areas, from inflammatory and immune disorders to cancer.