An MIT spinout, Synlogic, is aiming to create a new class of medicines, by re-programming bacteria found in the gut as “living therapeutics.”
Based on research by its co-founders, MIT professors Tim Lu and Jim Collins, Synlogic creates so-called synthetic biotics, which sense and correct metabolic abnormalities that underlie some major diseases and rare genetic disorders.
Human intestines are filled with trillions of bacteria, collectively called the microbiota, that carry out vital health functions. Synlogic’s synthetic biotics — capsules, liquid suspensions, or other dosage forms that can be taken regularly — augment the microbiota with new metabolic capabilities or complement lost functionality in organs such as the liver.