PITTSBURGH– Peptilogics, a clinical stage biotech company engineering peptide therapeutic solutions for patients with life-threatening diseases, today announced it has dosed its first patient with PLG0206 in the LOGIC-1 trial for the treatment of periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) occurring after a total knee arthroplasty (TKA). PLG0206 was designed with a unique mechanism of action intended to directly address persistent bacterial pathogens within the biofilm that evade standard of care antibiotics. PLG0206, an investigational product, has been granted FDA Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) Designations for the treatment of PJI.
“We are pleased with the dosing of the first patient in the Phase 1b study of our lead peptide candidate, PLG0206, which we believe has the potential improve clinical outcomes for patients suffering and dying from PJIs after a joint replacement. We believe PLG0206 has the potential to change the treatment paradigm for PJI,” said David Huang, M.D., Ph.D, Chief Medical Officer of Peptilogics.
Matthew Dietz, M.D., Coordinating Investigator for the study, WVU Medicine Orthopaedic Surgeon, and Associate Professor at the WVU School of Medicine, and his team were the first in the country to provide a patient PLG0206 in the clinical treatment setting of prosthetic joint infection. “We are excited to help advance the care of patients who have been diagnosed with prosthetic joint infection. The use of PLG0206, the engineered antimicrobial peptide, allows us to hopefully retain hip and knee replacements while effectively treating the patient’s infection. This is a big step in finding a solution that has plagued the orthopedic community for years.”
Each year, close to three million total joint replacements are performed in the U.S., a number that is expected to significantly increase by 2030 due to an aging and active population. Following joint replacement, the most devastating complication a patient can face is contracting a PJI, a serious life-threatening condition, which often necessitates continuous antibiotic usage, multiple high-risk surgical procedures, and implant removal with limited ability to resolve the infection. The current standard of care has up to a 60% failure rate at 4 years and a 25% five-year mortality rate. Given the high unmet need, Peptilogics is working to shift the treatment paradigm, differentiating PLG0206 from current therapeutic options.
“As we continue to reimagine the future of peptide therapeutic discovery, it is incredibly promising to have reached this milestone with our first program,” said Jonathan Steckbeck, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Peptilogics. “PLG0206 has demonstrated potential best-in-class, rapidly bactericidal, broad-spectrum activity against a variety of biofilm pathogens in both in vitro and non-clinical studies, and safety in a previously completed Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers. Now we have the opportunity to determine its impact on patients with PJI, who have limited and often ineffective treatment options. I am excited for the precedent this sets for future programs to follow.”
LOGIC-1 is a Phase 1b open-label, dose-escalating study in people undergoing a debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) surgical procedure for the treatment of PJI occurring after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).
