Xycrobe Announces Research Collaboration with J&J Innovation

Xycrobe Therapeutics announced today that it has entered into a research agreement with Johnson & Johnson Consumer. The collaboration, facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, is focused on further understanding applications of Xycrobe’s platform technology developed for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The planned collaboration is intended to provide both companies with information on how the Xycrobe technology may be best applied to future therapeutic and commercial applications.

Xycrobe’s technology consists of a library of commensal strains from the skin microbiome engineered to grow and secrete biotherapeutics as needed to help treat an array of skin issues.

“The current paradigm for treating skin conditions, such as acne, completely disregards the importance of the commensal skin flora. Overuse of antibiotics have led to a higher prevalence of resistant strains of bacteria and along with that comes less efficacy for conventional treatments. So, we are attempting to change that paradigm,” said Thomas Hitchcock, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Xycrobe. “We feel that the key to better treatment solutions for skin disease lies in understanding our body’s interaction with the skin microbiome, and how we can leverage this information. I am thrilled that Johnson & Johnson Consumer has elected to join us in our discovery process, and it is our hope that this collaboration can help expedite getting our therapies into the hands of physicians and their patients who truly need better solutions.”

Xycrobe has developed several strains of commensal skin bacteria that show potential for the significant reduction of inflammation, promising potential relief from ailments such as acne, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema.

“As Medical Director, and as a dermatologist, I am excited to hear about this collaboration between Xycrobe and Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc.,” said Hilary Baldwin, M.D. of the Acne Treatment Research Center. “We try to keep our fingers on the pulse of what is being developed in the acne space, and have been following Xycrobe’s progress since early on. Xycrobe’s innovative technology and approach has great potential to change the way we think about how we treat acne and it’s good to see a big player working with this emerging company.”

While Xycrobe intends to explore programs that address a variety of skin issues ranging from hair loss to toenail fungus, their current focus is on inflammatory skin diseases such as acne, psoriasis and dermatitis. These conditions affect over 100 million people in the US alone, and are not effectively addressed by the therapies currently on the market. Xycrobe seeks to address this large need through development of their platform technology.