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Currently, when you’re using Listerine or any other general antimicrobials, it’s like
you use a general herbicide. At this point, we discover more than one thousand different
kind of bacteria species. Most of them are good bacteria, few of them are bad. The best
analogy I've been using is weeds versus grass and with this particular technology, what
we call STAMPS, because specific targeted antimicrobial peptide and what it does, it’s
acting like a smart bomb. It goes to the mixture, only kill the weeds, leave the grass intact.
This whole mouth rinse idea came about from a very interesting microbiological problem
which is in the mouth you have all these forms of bacteria, but less than half a dozen and
arguably maybe just one major pathogen, cause cavities. With that framework behind the idea
of – well, there’s our main target, if we can eliminate that target without killing
the rest of the bacteria, that idea of preserving normal flora and establishing them as a protective
force in oral care is something that’s never been explored before.
The FDA has officially approved our investigative new drug application.
So, we're excited because it will be going into its phase one clinical trials and we're
looking to have about 36 subjects enrolled in this study. We will be looking at both
safety and initial efficacy. We patent it by UCLA, we moved the technology
out and opened a company and right next to UCLA. The majority of employees are UCLA graduates
and we’ve developed that in California and in fact, improving the California technology.
It’s really about the true value of intellectual property we’re creating in the university
could actually benefit the real world and through this kind of experience.
The impact on dentists and dental practice in general will be positive. This represents
not a replacement for the current status of care that dentists employ, but this is another
tool that they can use and will provide them another way to manage this process. And so
it gives more options and can really enable an anti-infective approach to dental practice
rather than a surgical approach. So, I think it’s a very positive development for dental
practice.