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Company Overview

Symberix is a preclinical-stage company focused on developing drugs that target disease pathways in the intestinal tract, including the microbiome. The gut microbiota is composed of a diverse and balanced population of trillions of microbes whose collective actions contribute to our well-being. Gut dysbiosis, an imbalance in the composition of good versus bad microbes in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract, contributes to a variety of human ailments and diseases. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are the result of aberrant immune responses, environmental triggers, and gut microbial factors. Both the host and microbiota contribute to pathological changes in gut tissue, symptoms of diarrhea, blood loss, long-term complications (fistulae, abscesses, and strictures), and extra-intestinal manifestations, including arthritis and other systemic illness.

The US adult prevalence of IBD is approximately 3 million, and more than 35% of IBD patients receive chronic or frequent/periodic pharmacological treatment. The total addressable US market for IBD pain is estimated at 2 million patients per year, and up to 70% of IBD patients experience significant and intense acute, chronic, or intermittent pain. The current annual US market for drugs to treat IBD is approximately $10 billion.

Symberix has a library of novel, potent, and bacteria-selective GUS inhibitors with potential NCE patent coverage, as well as various broad method-of-use patent claims. Symberix's lead development candidate is SBX-101, a first-generation broad-spectrum bacterial β-glucuronidase inhibitor (GUS) that selectively eliminates harmful activities of gut bacteria without killing beneficial microbes. GUS activity in the gut microbiota has been shown to contribute to intestinal inflammation and injury associated with exposure to xenobiotics, including pain medications. NSAIDs are very effective in managing IBD pain, but under-prescribed because of intestinal injuries caused by bacterial GUS enzymes. Symberix is developing SBX-101 to improve IBD pain treatment outcomes associated with NSAID use, allowing IBD patients to benefit from the effectiveness of NSAIDs in acute and/or chronic pain as well as significantly reduce the need for opioids in treating patients with IBD pain.

Additionally, Symberix has identified another compound series (SBX-3) with dual targeting activity. The SBX-3 series is a second-generation broad-spectrum bacterial β-glucuronidase inhibitor that also acts on an undisclosed human target known to regulate immune and inflammatory responses in the intestinal tract. SBX-3 may target an underlying disease pathway in IBD. With SBX-101 and SBX-3, Symberix aims to improve acute and chronic IBD treatment as well as transform IBD pain management. The company also has access to other platforms of druggable microbiome targets and has developed broadly useful tools to facilitate the discovery of new symbiotic drugs.

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