Last year, our sister biotech company @LUCABiologics announced VIRGO, the first comprehensive reference in the gene catalog of the human vaginal #microbiome spearheaded by Chief Scientist Dr. Jacques Ravel. A thread 🧵
This database of nearly 1 million non-redundant genes reveals significant genomic and functional diversity within the vaginal #ecosystem, challenging the widely-held notion that an optimal vaginal microbiome is dominated by one strain. 🧵
This new view of intraspecies diversity has deep implications on the development of gene-centric, microbial therapies to target #diseases like bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infection, and STI, which impact millions of women globally.🧵
Right now, the only frontline treatment is antibiotics, despite extensive side effects, failure to prevent recurrence, and the alarming rise in #antibiotic resistance. The need for innovation has never been more urgent.🧵
LUCA is looking to #microbes to develop a new category of ‘living medicines’ that modulate the vaginal microbiome to impact health. The first focus will target #UTIs with our future pipeline addressing BV, #infertility, and preterm birth. 🧵
Read more about VIRGO 🤓 in @nature research news here: nature.com/articles/s4146… 🧵
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