Technology

Bacteria occur in almost every ecological niche. While many of them are harmless and even beneficial, certain bacteria can invade organisms from any natural environment. Depending on the host's immune system and the type of bacteria and bacterial toxin, infections may pose a threat or even prove fatal. Major issues relating to bacteria are:

• Multi-resistance to antibiotics
• Outbreaks of food poisoning
• Disruption to research and development and pharmaceutical production caused by bacterial components (endotoxins)

Hyglos develops products for diagnostic and antimicrobial applications based on proteins derived from naturally occurring bacteriophages. Using the power of nature for human benefit is nothing new. However, in contrast to the use of whole virulent bacteriophages, the application of isolated bacteriophage proteins provides significant advantages such as high specificity and defined activity. Furthermore, bacteriophage proteins can be engineered according to specific requirements.

Hyglos develops and provides new solutions for:

• Clinical: Diagnostics, prevention and decolonization of infection-causing bacteria, including MRSA
• Food: Microbiological testing (of e.g. E. coli O157/EHEC) and food preservation
• Pharma & Research: Endotoxin removal and endotoxin detection