Company Developing Potential Therapeutics Using Microgravity

When space shuttle Discovery finally lifts off from the pad on its STS-119 mission, it will be carrying some nasty bacteria... that scientists hope will help earthbound doctors fight virulent infections.

Astrogenetix announced Wednesday it will conduct a microgravity-based virulence survey study aboard Discovery, utilizing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans. The research will utilize the unique environment of microgravity, which is known to impact infection potential of microbes, to help discover potential targets for a vaccine or therapeutic agent to fight infections caused by those microbes.

"Discovery of therapeutic targets for MRSA and the other microbes on this survey flight represents the continued growth of our efforts to use microgravity to develop novel pharmaceutical agents," said Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman of Astrogenetix. "The microgravity environment and its unique characteristics enable us to save lives on Earth by developing products in space."

The work on MSRA builds on the company's previous space-based research focusing on Salmonella, which resulted in the discovery of a vaccine target for that pathogen. MRSA is a type of bacteria that causes "staph" infections that are resistant to treatment with usual antibiotics. According to the Center for Disease Control, it is estimated that MRSA is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and 19,000 deaths annually.

"Through expertise gained by sending more than 1,500 science experiments into space, we are positioned to commercialize products derived from microgravity discoveries," added John Porter, Chief Executive Officer of Astrogenetix. "As ISS nears completion we are excited about the opportunity to utilize the ISS National Lab to develop a platform for drug discovery."

The 2005 NASA Authorization Act designated a portion of the ISS as a National Laboratory, and NASA has provided an opportunity for non-governmental entities to conduct research and development and potentially industrial processing on board the ISS. Astrogenetix is one of the first commercial entities to hold a Space Act Agreement with NASA for use of the ISS National Lab.

"The science that Astrogenetix has been conducting for almost two years demonstrates the value of microgravity and NASA is very supportive of their progress," said Mark Uhran, NASA Assistant Associate Administrator for the ISS. "This is the first of many high value products that we believe can be produced on the ISS and we encourage Astrogenetix to continue their pursuit of vaccines and therapeutics that are discovered in space for the benefit of human health on Earth."

FMI: www.astrogenetix.com, www.nasa.gov