8 March 2019 - - US-based clinical stage company Synlogic, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: SYBX) Synthetic Biotic medicines has advanced to the lead optimisation stage in its collaboration with US drugmaker AbbVie to develop an oral treatment for inflammatory bowel disease, the company said.

Synlogic is pioneering the development of a novel class of living medicines, Synthetic Biotic medicines, based on its proprietary drug development platform.

The company leverages the tools and principles of synthetic biology to genetically engineer beneficial microbes to perform or deliver critical functions missing or damaged due to disease.

Synthetic Biotic medicines are designed to act locally and have a systemic effect to address disease in patients. Synlogic's two lead programmes, SYNB1020 and SYNB1618, are orally administered and target hyperammonemia as a result of liver damage or genetic disease, and phenylketonuria, respectively.

Synlogic is also developing SYNB1891 as an intratumorally-administered Synthetic Biotic medicine for the treatment of cancer.

In addition, the company is leveraging the broad potential of its platform to create additional Synthetic Biotic medicines for the treatment of liver disease, as well as inflammatory and immune disorders including Synlogic's collaboration with AbbVie to develop Synthetic Biotic-based treatments for inflammatory bowel disease.