Olgram
Intelligent Molecules to Combat Infectious Diseases

As the planet has evolved exponentially, it has also brought to light the existence of some of the most infectious diseases, making the living beings highly vulnerable. One of the major reasons behind this is the presence of persister cells that are non-growing, antibiotic tolerant bacteria within a population of usually susceptible cells. These cells being a subpopulation of transiently dormant bacteria, lead to infectious relapses, chronic infection and eventually cause treatments to fail. Consequently, these cells pose as a threat to the living beings’ ability to fight even the most common infectious diseases, thereby placing the public health at risk. Based out of France, Olgram acknowledges these growing concerns and accordingly, by dint of its distinctive molecules and positioning, develops effective and the most sought-after drugs with an aim to heal chronic infections by eradicating the deadly pathogens that are responsible for the increasing relapses. Given the growing need to create alternative strategies against bacterial pathogens, Olgram has already unearthed new peptides that consist of anti-infective property.

Team Olgram advocates that the oceans are home to a multitude of undiscovered resources and unexplored potential.

This belief has been proven to be beneficial for the company as it has stood as an impetus for its team to scour for the novel natural resources, allowing it to discover a new source of medicines. As a result, the company leaves no stone unturned in exploring every bit of the marine environment to find effective solutions that can combat antibiotic resistance.

A spin-off of the Olmix group, Olgram, in its mission to put a stop to chronic infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance, has developed two programs, namely, the discovery and development of new anti-infectives and the development of immunostimulatory molecules based on new chemical entity found in algae. These research activities are conducted in the research centers of Rennes and Nantes. As an early-stage biotechnology organization, the company, with an aspiration to obtain the best firstin- class molecule that can identify dormant (persistent) bacteria, has also successfully created a proprietary screening platform in order to modify as well as test molecules.

Its collaboration with the University of Rennes 1 in Pr. Felden’s Team clearly demonstrates the company’s ability to develop practical solutions that can protect humankind from contracting harmful diseases. In this alliance, the company birthed new molecules that possess the remarkable ability to terminate pathogenic resistant bacteria. And this is not all. By targeting the particular feature of the persisters (dormant bacteria), which are the core reasons behind the increasing episodes of infectious relapses, these molecules developed by Olgram can put an end to these bacteria too. On the basis of these properties, a wide range of molecules were designed along with discovering an original mechanism of action. Furthermore, with an aim to discover the best in class molecule for curing patients, Olgram is now reconstructing the lead candidate OL20-01 on a proprietary platform that can screen the persistent bacteria.

With an aim to thrive more, the company has amalgamated a wide variety of state-of-the art skills with the effective approaches in clinical pharmacology, immunology and microbiology that can help in the development of unique as well as original therapies along with innovative molecules. Moreover, to further realize its ambition to flourish in the future to come and establish itself as a captain in the domain of antibiotic resistance, the company will continue to enhance its teams’ knowledge and capabilities and help them keep pace with the latest developments in the biotechnology domain.