Key Patent Issued on Eligo’s Gene-Editing Breakthroughs Applied to Skin Disorders

Eligo Bioscience recently announced the issuance by the USPTO of the first patent in a wide family covering genetic engineering of a key skin microbiome species, Cutibacterium acnes, to support therapeutic interventions in multiple serious skin disorders. This pioneering work also provides unique opportunities to leverage the skin’s immune system for oncological, vaccination or desensitization applications.

US Patent No. 11,473,093 stems from the WO2022096596 patent family filed in 2020 and fully owned by Eligo Bioscience that covers the use of genetically engineered C. acnes and any derived products to address skin disorders, and an exploration of the potential of leveraging the skin’s immune system for oncological, vaccination or desensitization applications. No genetic toolbox was yet in existence for this notoriously difficult-to-engineer bacterial species before Eligo achieved these long-awaited genetic engineering breakthroughs. Indeed, over the last three years, Eligo has developed unique capabilities and know-how that provide significant potential, not only to engineer C. acnes in the lab, but also to functionalize C. acnes directly on the skin of patients in order to impact host responses.

C. acnes is a key and ubiquitous species of the skin microbiome that provides many health benefits for the host, such as maintenance of skin barrier and protection against pathogens. Interestingly, it also resides in the hair follicle, in the vicinity of the host immune and stem cells. Using its versatile gene editing platform, and supported by this additional patent family, Eligo is in the position to either eliminate or modify genes from the skin microbiome, or introduce new genes to the microbiome to express therapeutic proteins at the skin/host interface. Eligo has already obtained preclinical proof of concept for its first program in moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris with the development of a first-in-class modality capable of delivering a CRISPR system directly into C. acnes, to kill with high efficiency only the strains of this species that are known to drive inflammation in the hair follicle. Eligo is progressing this program rapidly, with an expected clinical proof of concept in moderate-to-severe acne patients in 2024. Patent family WO2022096596 fully supports Eligo’s acne program and many other serious skin disorders such as skin cancer, alopecia and vitiligo, as well as a tool for potential vaccination and desensitization.

“Thanks to the quality of our science and the unmatched expertise of our team, we have been able to develop unique and highly differentiated tools to address skin disorders in record time. We are extremely proud of the pioneering work accomplished by the team, now recognized by the USPTO, and that offers Eligo a dominant position in the field of C.acnes genetic engineering and its vast therapeutic applications,” said Dr. Xavier Duportet, Chief Executive Officer of Eligo Bioscience. “The grant of this first patent is a very important milestone for the company as we progress towards the clinic with our proprietary modality in the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris”.

Eligo Bioscience is the world leader in microbiome in vivo gene editing therapy and is advancing a highly differentiated pipeline of precision genetic medicines to address unmet medical needs in immuno-inflammation and oncology caused by the expression of specific deleterious bacterial genes by our microbiome.

Eligo was founded by scientists from The Rockefeller University and from MIT. Eligo was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and has received venture capital funding from Khosla Ventures and Seventure Partners, and non-dilutive funding from GlaxoSmithKline, the European Commission, CARB-X, and Bpifrance. For more information, visit https://www.eligo.bio/.