Joint Team from MIT and Synlogic Named a Biotechnology Grand Challenge Winner by Air Force Research Laboratory

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A collaboration between MIT Voigt Lab and Synlogic, Inc. SYBX, a clinical stage company bringing the transformative potential of synthetic biology to medicine, has been recognized by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a Biotechnology Grand Challenge Winner. One of four winning teams, the joint team comprised of MIT and Synlogic was awarded $1 million in an effort to spearhead innovation among small businesses in the field of biotechnology for the Department of Defense.

"We are honored to be recognized by the AFRL and are thrilled to collaborate with Synlogic to achieve this success," said Christopher Voigt, MIT Professor of Biological Engineering and Principal Investigator for the MIT Voigt Lab. "Our challenge was determining which organization would possess the proven expertise in both the development and manufacturing of novel biotherapeutic products, and we couldn't be happier that we have found that partner in Synlogic."

Christopher Voigt is an expert in synthetic biology and biotechnology with extensive research programs in defense, chemistry/materials, and agriculture. The focus of the Voigt Lab is to develop new experimental and theoretical methods to push the scale of genetic engineering, with the ultimate objective of genome design. This will impact the engineering of biology for a broad range of applications, including agriculture, materials, chemicals, and medicine. Professor Voigt's research spans applications for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, and he works closely with scientists across the service labs as well as hosting DoD researchers at MIT.

"Our internal and fully integrated Process Development & Manufacturing Sciences organization has demonstrated leading technical expertise in the field of Synthetic Biotic medicines and we look forward to applying innovative solutions for today's real-life challenges," said Antoine Awad, Synlogic's Chief Operating Officer. "As we develop our internal pipeline we are excited to leverage our core capabilities to advance innovative partner projects, such as applying our bioprocess and manufacturing to advance the goals of the AFRL."

Together, Synlogic and the Voigt Lab will collaborate to generate and manufacture engineered strains by performing an assessment of process manufacturability, with optimization performed to maximize high cell density growth and high end of fermentation (EOF) viability. The goal of this work is to produce a live bacterial therapeutic that would improve pilot performance and decision-making when battling fatigue during long missions. 

Learn more about Synlogic at www.synlogictx.com. 

About Synlogic

Synlogic™ is bringing the transformative potential of synthetic biology to medicine. With a premiere synthetic biology platform that leverages a reproducible, modular approach to microbial engineering, Synlogic designs Synthetic Biotic medicines that target validated underlying biology to treat disease in new ways. Synlogic's proprietary pipeline includes Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of metabolic disorders including Phenylketonuria (PKU) and Enteric Hyperoxaluria (HOX). The company is also building a portfolio of partner-able assets in immunology and oncology.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve substantial risks and uncertainties for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding strategy, future operations, clinical development plans, future financial position, future revenue, projected expenses, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. In addition, when or if used in this press release, the words "may," "could," "should," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "predict" and similar expressions and their variants, as they relate to Synlogic may identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential of Synlogic's platform to develop therapeutics to address a wide range of diseases including: cancer, inborn errors of metabolism,  and inflammatory and immune disorders; the future clinical development of Synthetic Biotic medicines; the approach Synlogic is taking to discover and develop novel therapeutics using synthetic biology; and the expected timing of Synlogic's clinical trials including the Phase 1 study for SYNB1891 and SYNB8802 and the Phase 2 study of SYNB1618, and availability of clinical trial data from that study and other studies.

Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the clinical and preclinical development process; the ability of Synlogic to protect its intellectual property rights; and legislative, regulatory, political and economic developments, as well as those risks identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in Synlogic's filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Synlogic's current views with respect to future events. Synlogic anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. However, while Synlogic may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, Synlogic specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Synlogic's view as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.

SOURCE Synlogic, Inc.