Targeting C difficile with Oxygen-Based Therapy
Larry Sutton, MD, PhD, discussed how oxygen affects C. difficile and provides anti-inflammatory effects in the gut, with potential applications for gastrointestinal diseases.
LPOXY Therapeutics, Inc has acquired key assets from Xeno Biosciences Inc to advance its therapy, SIDIPREV, aimed at preventing Clostridioides difficile (C difficile) infections in hospitalized patients. The acquisition includes regulatory filings, FDA correspondence, CMC data, intellectual property, and Phase I and Ib clinical trial data confirming the safety of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. This acquisition enables LPOXY to initiate a Phase II study of SIDIPREV under the FDA’s Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Development (LPAD).
In our recent conversation with Larry Sutton, MD, PhD, CEO of LPOXY Therapeutics, he discussed the significant impact of C difficile infections, which cause over 30,000 deaths annually in the US, Sutton explained, “C difficile is an anaerobic pathogen… it doesn't like oxygen, they can't detoxify oxygen, and they get sick from it.” This makes C difficile particularly susceptible to oxygen, which has been shown to inhibit its growth and suppress the production of toxins that cause disease. As Sutton elaborated, “What oxygen does is it inhibits its growth and suppresses toxins production that causes disease.”
In addition to its antibacterial effects, oxygen has been demonstrated to have anti-inflammatory properties, which could be beneficial for healing the gut and preventing infections. Sutton further noted, “Oxygen is an anti-inflammatory in the gut. So it can help the healing in that way as well.” This antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory dual effect supports the potential for oxygen-based therapies in treating gastrointestinal conditions.
One of the challenges with current oxygen delivery methods, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, is that they are cumbersome and not suitable for widespread use. Sutton pointed out, “All these other data that are out there in the academic literature administer oxygen through cumbersome and uncomfortable methods… however, an oral administration will.” Oral oxygen administration could provide a more practical and scalable solution, especially for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis, for which current treatments are limited.
Looking ahead, LPOXY is focused on exploring oral oxygen delivery as a promising approach for preventing C difficile infections and treating various inflammatory bowel diseases. Sutton highlighted, “There is a lot of data out there that oxygen is beneficial in inflammatory bowel disease, especially ulcerative colitis.” This emerging therapy could help address significant unmet needs in treating these challenging conditions.
