Wow, this is really interesting. Googling "C16G2" brought up some newer info. There's not much mainstream coverage, mostly just press releases and studies. But the company that's running with this is apparently called C3 Jian.
They completed a Phase II clinical trial last Fall where they tested it as a mouthwash and a gel with three methods of application (tray, electric toothbrush, and manual toothbrush). Apparently gel in a tray won: 90% reduction in S. mutans population that lasted seven days after treatment ended.
C16G2 is the peptide that targets S. mutans. I suppose the idea is to develop more peptides targeting other species and give you a gel cocktail treatment (or maybe suppressing S. mutans is enough).
Being able to selectively kill exact species of bacteria ... that seems like a big deal.
"C16G2 works very rapidly in vitro with a unique membrane-active mechanism of action. This physical method of killing is not targeting a single gene product, and therefore single gene mutations are unlikely to confer resistance. Also, mechanism of action, route of administration and clearance of the drug are expected to limit drug exposure to the oral mucosa, so no impact on the development of resistance in other bacteria is expected, in contrast to concerns about overuse of traditional antibiotics. Despite believing resistance is not likely, we will carefully monitor resistance in clinical trials and in laboratory experiments."
There's a significant downside to this: in the long term, this leads to the evolution of super-resistant bacteria. I have little doubt this treatment will be effective in the short term but no idea what the rebound will look like.
http://www.c3-jian.com/
They raised a $60M Series D in March of last year.
http://www.fiercebiotech.com/press-releases/c3-jian-closes-6...
They completed a Phase II clinical trial last Fall where they tested it as a mouthwash and a gel with three methods of application (tray, electric toothbrush, and manual toothbrush). Apparently gel in a tray won: 90% reduction in S. mutans population that lasted seven days after treatment ended.
http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/09/09/664615/1009...
C16G2 is the peptide that targets S. mutans. I suppose the idea is to develop more peptides targeting other species and give you a gel cocktail treatment (or maybe suppressing S. mutans is enough).
Being able to selectively kill exact species of bacteria ... that seems like a big deal.