BiomX: Bringing Phage Back to the Stage

In the spring of 2023, and following the favorable results of a trial involving its phage cocktail for treating lung infections among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, the leadership of BiomX had several critical issues to wrestle with. First, given its precarious financial position, with funds to continue operating for about 18 months, the company was considering how it could raise more money. Possibilities included finding a buyer, convincing an entity to take them private with a cash infusion, securing a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal, and trying to interest institutional investors to buy shares. Second, given the positive results just reported and the pending outcome of ongoing trials, management began assessing the commercial potential for its treatment for lung infections in CF patients. The executives had to define the likely total addressable market (TAM) as well as what could be a reasonable price to charge; other go to market challenges, such as educating the medical community and convincing payers to cover the treatment, would also need to be overcome. Lastly, if the ongoing trials in CF patients also produced positive results and additional funding was secured, the company had to decide on future R&D efforts. Options ranged from developing and testing phage cocktails to treat low-risk/low-reward conditions (such as prosthetic joint infections or PJI), medium-risk/medium-reward conditions (such as infections associated with atopic dermatitis), or high-risk/high-reward conditions (such as inflammatory bowel disease or IBD).

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