Intrexon and Synthetic Biologics to develop novel agents for phenylketonuria

US biotech firm Intrexon (NYSE: XON) and Synthetic Biologics (NYSE: SYN) today announced an exclusive channel collaboration (ECC) to pursue the development and commercialization of novel biotherapeutics for the treatment of patients with phenylketonuria (PKU), a serious and debilitating metabolic disorder.

Through the ECC, the companies plan to utilize Intrexon's ActoBiotics platform providing a proprietary method of delivering therapeutic protein and peptides to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract through food-grade microbes. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"We are excited to build on our existing relationship with Intrexon through this new collaboration," commented Jeffrey Riley, chief executive of Synthetic Biologics, adding: "We believe a biotherapeutics-based approach has great potential to provide relief for patients managing this devastating disease and an opportunity to improve upon current therapies that rely on constant dietary monitoring and drugs to increase phenylalanine breakdown. The development of these biotherapeutics expands our pipeline of products targeted for release in the GI tract without adverse impact on the natural balance of the patient's gut microbiome."