Ritter Pharmaceuticals Announces Collaboration with UBC to Explore Development of Microbiome Therapeutics in Environmental Enteropathy

Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RTTR) (“Ritter Pharmaceuticals” or the “Company”), a developer of novel therapeutic products that modulate the human gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases, today announced that it is collaborating with Dr. B Brett Finlay from the Michael Smith Laboratories at the University of British Columbia (“UBC”) to study the role of the microbiome and RP-G28 in environmental enteropathy (“EE”).
As part of the collaboration, Dr. B. Brett Finlay, an award-winning microbiologist in the fields of innate immunity and microbiome research, plans to explore the microbiome’s role in environmental enteropathy. The pre-clinical research is designed to build upon Dr. Finlay’s previously published studies demonstrating the gut microbiome’s role in contributing to the causes of EE. Ritter Pharmaceuticals is providing its lead compound, RP-G28, for use in the study. RP-G28 is currently in a Phase 2b/3 study in humans for the treatment of lactose intolerance. In previous human studies, RP-G28 has demonstrated significant beneficial changes to the gut microbiome that have been associated with potential to improve a variety of digestive disorders.
Andrew J. Ritter, Co-founder and President of Ritter Pharmaceuticals, added, “we are pleased to be collaborating with Dr. Finlay and his team to better understand therapeutic interventions that may reverse signs of environmental enteropathy, a significant worldwide health issue. We’re excited to apply our clinical knowledge of RP-G28 in a way that has significant possibilities to produce substantial social benefits in developing countries.”
Dr. B Brett Finlay, Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories, and the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia, added, “We are pleased to be working with Ritter Pharmaceuticals to explore potential treatments and therapies to environmental enteropathy that affects so many of the world’s children. Testing RP-G28 in the relevant model will greatly facilitate preclinical testing of this compound for affecting the outcome of EE.”
About Ritter Pharmaceuticals
Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.RitterPharma.com, @RitterPharma) develops novel therapeutic products that modulate the gut microbiome to treat gastrointestinal diseases. Its lead product, RP-G28, has the potential to become the first FDA-approved treatment for lactose intolerance, a condition that affects millions worldwide. The company is further exploring the functionality and discovering the therapeutic potential gut microbiome changes may have on treating/preventing a variety of conditions including: gastrointestinal diseases, immuno-oncology, metabolic, and liver disease.
About the University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a global centre for research and teaching, consistently ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world. Since 1915, UBC’s entrepreneurial spirit has embraced innovation and challenged the status quo. UBC encourages its students, staff and faculty to challenge convention, lead discovery and explore new ways of learning. At UBC, bold thinking is given a place to develop into ideas that can change the world.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements related to our ability to bring RP-G28 to market. Management believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made. However, such statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the drug development process generally, including the outcomes of planned clinical trials and the regulatory review process. For a discussion of certain risks and uncertainties affecting Ritter Pharmaceuticals’ forward-looking statements, please review the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2015 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2016, June 30, 2016 and September 30, 2016. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and Ritter Pharmaceuticals does not undertake any responsibility to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as expressly required by law.