CHAIN’s Clostridium Assisted Drug Development (CADD™) platform is centred on the use of a specific Clostridium bacterial strain and precision engineering biology is used to produce and deliver specific therapeutic payloads to the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

CHAIN’s live biotherapeutics are manufactured as highly robust bacterial endospores (spores) and formulated into capsules for orally delivered medicines. The spore-form provides a mechanism for efficient and targeted oral drug delivery to the lower GI tract.

Spores are resistant to stomach acid and enzymatic digestion in the upper GI tract.  Once spores reach the terminal ileum and large intestine, they rapidly germinate and multiply. Growing cells produce the bioactive of interest during passage through the lower GI tract.  CHAIN’s host strain does not permanently colonise offering a high degree of control over therapeutic dosage.