Bacterial Robotics Gains Oncolytic Herpesvirus For Inhibiting Cancerous Tumors

CINCINNATI, June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Bacterial Robotics, a synthetic microbial biotechnology firm, today announced it secured an oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) from Nationwide Children's Hospital.  The oHSV expresses the human tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases (TIMP3) or firefly luciferase rQT3. 

The Company is developing unique therapeutic ViruBots™.  With the previously announced collaboration, Bacterial Robotics will continue its work with Dr. Tim Cripe toward an rQT3 oHSV tumor preventing or destructing ViruBot product.

Jason E. Barkeloo, CEO stated, "Nationwide Children's Hospital's pediatric focus on preventing disease and providing life-saving treatments, has enabled Bacterial Robotics to move rapidly forward in the oncolytic product development market.  The oHSV rQT3 oncolytic virus showed remarkable in vivo xenograft results toward reducing endothelial progenitors to neuroblastoma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors."

Matthew McFarland, RPh, PhD, Director of Technology Commercialization at The Research Institute of Nationwide Children's Hospital added, "Dr Cripe's work with Bacterial Robotics is a great example of how partnership with the private sector can facilitate translation of an academic research enterprise into meaningful therapeutic strategies."

Timothy Cripe, MD, PhD, stated, "We are eager to continue this work and harness the potential of both synthetic bacteria and oncolytic viruses for medical applications." 

Barkeloo finished, "We are excited to launch the next stage of this significant product development in our mission 'to change a life; save a life'."  

Bacterial Robotics' senior leadership, Shengchang Su, PhD, Director of BactoBot Engineering, and Li Guo, PhD, Director of Mammalian Cellular Engineering, and Jason E. Barkeloo, are attending the 2014 BIO International Convention, 23-26 June 2014 at the San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA.  More at: http://convention.bio.org/2014/.

About Bacterial Robotics

An early developer in the emerging synthetic biology industry, Bacterial Robotics is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA).  It has laboratory operations in Covington, KY.  The Company specializes in identifying markets for developing and deploying BactoBots™ and ViruBots™; microscopic organism-based robots that produce, build, sense, and perform functions.   

The Company's products are protected by a consumable proprietary genetics rights management (GeRM™) key system.  The GeRM system is a consumable additive that prevents the BactoBots against theft or release.  The GeRM key consumable enables the Company's business model to gain revenues from the licensing of the manufacture and distribution of BactoBots.

Once Bacterial Robotics develops a BactoBot, it creates a go-to-market subsidiary to launch the product.  Pilus Energy was the Company's first subsidiary, a wastewater-to-value company.  That subsidiary was merged with Tauriga Sciences, Inc. in January 2014.

Bacterial Robotics is developing viral (ViruBots), bacterial (BactoBots), and fungal (FungalBots) microbial industrial solutions.

For more information on Bacterial Robotics, visit its web site at http://BacterialRobotics.com.

About Nationwide Children's Hospital

Ranked in all 10 specialties on U.S.News & World Report's 2013-14 "America's Best Children's Hospitals" list and among the Top 10 on Parents magazine's 2013 "Best Children's Hospitals" list, Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the nation's largest not-for-profit freestanding pediatric healthcare networks providing care for infants, children and adolescents as well as adult patients with congenital disease. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children's faculty train the next generation of pediatricians, scientists and pediatric specialists. The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities in the U.S., supporting basic, clinical, translational and health services research at Nationwide Children's. The Research Institute encompasses three research facilities totaling 525,000 square feet dedicated to research. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org/Research.

SOURCE Bacterial Robotics