Non-typeable Haemophilus Influenza

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Otitis media (OM) is a highly prevalent pediatric disease worldwide. The recently available statistics indicate that 24.5 million physician’s office visits were made for OM in 1990, representing a greater than 200% increase over those reported in the 1980's. OM is the most frequently diagnosed illness in children (<15 yrs.) and is the primary cause for emergency room visits. The morbidity associated with OM is significant. Hearing loss is the most common complication of OM with behavioral, educational and language development delays being additional consequences of early onset otitis media with effusion. The socioeconomic impact of OM is also great, with direct and indirect costs of diagnosing and managing OM exceeding $5 billion annually in the U.S. alone. To date, antibiotic use, both therapeutically and often prophylactically, has been largely relied upon for medical management of the spectrum of clinical entities known collectively as OM. Widespread use of antibiotics for OM has met with controversy, however, with the emergence of multiple-antibiotic resistant microorganisms.

This alarming increase in bacterial resistance to antimicrobials, including all three of the genera of bacteria commonly associated with OM (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis), is hardly surprising when one considers that antibiotic use in children under 15 is more than three times greater than that in any other age group and in fact, 40% of all outpatient antibiotic use in children is for treatment of OM. Clearly, there is a tremendous need to develop more effective and accepted approaches to the management, and preferably, the prevention of OM through vaccination. While there are currently licensed vaccines targeting S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae type b, more than 90% of H. influenzae OM infections are due to non-typeable strains (NTHI). BMI is applying its Immune Dampening and Refocusing Technology to outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of NTHI that are involved in early bacterial colonization and adherence.

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BMI is developing an AIDS vaccine and applying its Immune Dampening and Refocusing Technology to the outer HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120/gp41, which is the main mediator of viral fusion and entry with host receptors CD4 and chemokine receptors CCR5 and/or CXCR4.

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Biological Mimetics, Inc. (“BMI”) was formed to commercialize innovative pharmaceutical products that will improve the quality of life and overall state of public health by combating resistant and emerging diseases in human and veterinary medicine. Our mission philosophy is to remain a creative and innovative biotechnology firm dedicated to improving the quality of life and overall state of public health through the application of novel technologies for the development and commercialization of human and veterinary biologics to address a long list of hitherto intractable disease targets involving viruses, bacteria, parasites, and cancer.

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dreamstime_1923964Respiratory disease accounts for an estimated 75 to 80% of all acute morbidity in the U.S. population and approximately 80% of these are due to viruses. The major causes of acute respiratory disease include influenza virus, rhinovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, and respiratory coronavirus. BMI’s vaccine efforts are focused on influenza virus and rhinovirus.
Learn more:  Influenza Virus  | Rhinovirus

Company News

blk triangleJune 2011: BMI announces collaborative research agreement with Crucell-BV for development of a universal influenza vaccine
blk triangleNov. 2010: BMI announces collaborative research agreement with GSK-Biologicals for development of an immune refocused vaccine for respiratory infection
blk triangleSept 2010: BMI is awarded a Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Award
blk triangleJune 2010: BMI is awarded a Small Business Innovative Research Grant from the NIH for vaccine development
blk triangleNov. 2009: BMI is a prime contractor in the Fundamentals of Biology Program of DARPA/DSO for the study of modularity in biological systems
blk triangleMay 2008: BMI is awarded a subcontract for HIV vaccine development through the Henry M Jackson Institute for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
blk triangleJuly 2007: BMI is awarded a subcontract from DARPA through Rice University to study the evolution of pathogens
blk triangleJune 2007: BMI is awarded a subcontract from DARPA through VaxDesign (Orlando, Florida) to study immunogenicity of influenza