Birmingham-based ResBiotic has created a drug development spin-off, Alveolus Bio, and launched its first consumer health product, resB Lung Support. Together, the parent firm and spin-off are using $4.5 million in seed funding as they work “to transform the respiratory care landscape and chart new frontiers for microbiome science.”
The firms’ work is based on research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The new venture, Alveolus Bio, is working to address chronic respiratory illnesses. “The company’s intellectual property portfolio includes a recently secured patent on live biotherapeutics for the treatment of lung diseases of infancy, childhood and adulthood. The Alveolus Bio pipeline includes breakthrough drugs for respiratory indications such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
The parent firm will continue its focus on health and wellness products. Its first, resB Lung Support, is described as “an oral supplement that combines respiratory-specific probiotic strains with bioactive botanicals to support lung health. The product “works by targeting bidirectional interactions between the respiratory mucosa and the gut microbiota, also known as the gut-lung axis,” the company explains.
“Considering the therapeutic potential of microbiome-based products for lung health, it was essential that we create a subsidiary company to support a pharmaceutical pipeline separate from our consumer nutrition division,” explains Dr. C. Vivek Lal, MD FAAP, the founder of ResBiotic and Alveolus. “Our pharmaceutical arm is developing biotherapeutics for specific chronic respiratory conditions. Meanwhile, the consumer group remains focused on science-backed proactive products that anyone concerned about their lung health can use and benefit from today.”
