Flightpath Biosciences, Inc

A personal musing. Forgive me. As a young man, from a rural farm town in the middle of the corn fields in mid-Michigan, I dreamed of doing something remarkable with my “one life”. Making some difference. Something bigger than where I was at the time. After growing up near Flint Michigan, attending a tiny Class B high school and Michigan State University — I left and went to Texas, and eventually attended The University of Texas at Austin for my MBA. On graduation day in Austin, I remember telling my parents privately in front of the fountain near the business school that “now, everything is going to be alright, I’m on my path” and “someday I’ll be on the cover of Time magazine”. The latter was just a confidence booster for me, a throw away, almost. Now, at 52, that long held vision has come true. Sort of. For Lyme disease patients - we are making a difference. Even if this means we are putting patients “on the radar”. Now, our perpetually understated and brilliant Cofounding Scientist Kim Lewis, didn’t exactly talk about how much potential our “new drug” (FP-100) actually has - he downplayed it - But, we know that it’s the furthest advanced drug candidate prospectively developed for treatment of Lyme disease. And that in addition to Lyme Borrelia bacteria, it kills the bacteria that drives syphilis, gum disease and the bacteria that causes some cancers to metastasize. But, I digress…we are now in phase I clinical trials. Kim’s discovery demonstrates that you can target “bad bacteria” with antibiotics, the aggressively pathogenic (disease causing) ones without doing catastrophic damage to the healthy gut flora that your immune system needs to function well. While ALL that doesn’t come through in this TIME story - it should. A win for everyone today. We have a long way to go. But, we also have a terrific team at Flightpath Biosciences, Inc Read in TIME: https://lnkd.in/evNr5Ntp

It was truly an honor to be invited to participate in this conference alongside innovators, leaders and luminaries at The Forsyth Institute. The oral cavity is both a leading indicator AND a gateway to systemic health, wellness and longevity. Best question this week, “When was the last time your doctor performed an oral exam or referred you to a dentist?” It’s time the broader healthcare industry acknowledges that the oral cavity is not a separate entity and separate business opportunity. Patients don’t see themselves as a “mouth and a body”. They want smart, seamless, interconnected, comprehensive solutions - whole body care. I was particularly inspired by Pacific Dental Services, Care Capital, Revere Partners and CareQuest Innovation Partners approach to the future of whole patient care. The ADA Forsyth Institute is a powerful new team with the leadership and vision to address these opportunities head on. We are so thrilled just to be at the table. Thank you from Flightpath Biosciences, Inc Let’s go!

Great validation and justification for continued investment in (and development of) new therapeutic solutions for patients. This acknowledgement by the CDC that Chronic Lyme disease is a real problem patients experience, couldn’t come at a better time. Even better, the statement “[…even after appropriate treatment…]” is a first signal that the initial treatment was maybe not appropriate. Aggressive treatment regimens of 10-28 days of broad spectrum antibiotics that may not work 100% of the time, can damage your gut microbiome and negatively impact your immune system and response to infections, etc…is not a great solution and not really appropriate. It’s just “what we have in the quiver”… We can do better… Let’s solve this!

It was an honor to be invited and attend the GLA Gala this past week at Cipriani in NYC. My most sincere appreciation to Global Lyme Alliance, Christopher Meloni, Debbie Gibson, Kenzie Vath and others for bringing Lyme disease further into the light so that patients can find the help they need. Without advocates with audiences, the majority of patients and their families exist only in shadows. We can solve this together with great science, funding and focus.

The wait is over! Our Forsyth dentech Pitch Competition finalists have just been announced. A sharp group of startups is coming through this year and we can't wait to hear how they plan to disrupt oral health. Check out the complete list of innovative companies here https://lnkd.in/exv2vYbF 3D Orthobiologic Solutions (3DOS) AirPay Amend Surgical, Inc. Biolectrics CaviSense CUTISS AG DeepCare Flightpath Biosciences, Inc GreenMark Biomedical Inc ir-scientific Oral Science RevBio, Inc. SmileSonica Inc. StraightWise Forsyth dentech 2023 is sponsored by OraBio #forsythdentech #startup #oralhealth #biotech #innovation

I'm thrilled to announce our new partnership with The Forsyth Institute to target specific disease-causing microbes commonly occurring in the oral cavity. Oral health is so critically important to general human health. According to the CDC, 47.2% of adults aged 30 years and older have some form of periodontal disease. This increases with age (70.1% of adults 65 yrs and older). While your smile is the first thing people see - super important - the rest of you needs to be healthy too. Treponema denticola and Fusobacterium Nucleatum are well-known to be involved in the periodontal disease process but they're also known to cause systemic chronic inflammation and disease (e.g. oral and colorectal cancer, neurodegenerative disease). It's time to focus on them. Lets get to work! See the release here: https://lnkd.in/gQ_kg4GJ

Flightpath Biosciences, Inc has been selected to pitch in the Forsyth dentech Pitch Competition! We are excited for the opportunity to present our novel antimicrobial technology to thought leaders across the oral health innovation ecosystem. Come connect with us at #Forsythdentech 2023. The Forsyth Institute, Invest Detroit, Illumina Ventures, Michigan Rise, Red Cedar Ventures, Delta Dental of Michigan, Procter & Gamble, Greycroft, Revere Partners, Rise Health, Jeremy N. Krell, DMD, MBA, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, L.P., Debiopharm, Organon, Takeda, Pfizer

Last week, Nadja Leimer, PhD (Northeastern University) and I attended The Forsyth Institute's 6th Annual Scientific Session on the Oral Microbiome. For those who don't know, Forsyth is the "Cooperstown of oral biology". It's been home to hundreds of discoveries over the past century, making it possible to establish critical linkages between oral microbes, oral pathogens and human health. As our Flightpath Biosciences, Inc team advances our narrow-spectrum antibiotic, FP-100, out of the lab and into human clinical development for the treatment of Lyme disease, we see terrific opportunities to impact oral health and related downstream systemic disease by knocking out key pathogens in the oral cavity (treponemes and spirochetes). More to come on this... Thank you Nadja for presenting your fantastic work (poster below) on FP-100's potential for impact in the oral cavity.