Mucin glycan-derived therapeutics for infectious vaginitis
Year
2023
Project team
Katharina Ribbeck with Kelsey Wheeler, Liubov Yakovlieva and Caroline Mitchell
Vaginitis
responsible for 10 million office visits annually in US
Antibiotics
provide only temporary relief
80 percent
of bacterial vaginosis patients suffer recurrence within nine months
Treatment inspired by the body’s own defenses
Vaginitis, a common vaginal health condition that causes significant discomfort and impacts most women at least once, is responsible for 10 million office visits annually in the US. Antibiotics and antifungals can provide a temporary cure, but these infections often return and become recurrent problems with no reliable solutions for prevention. This team is developing a mucin-inspired technology that would deliver infection-fighting sugars via a polymer to treat and prevent infectious vaginitis, and ease discomfort.