RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Morrisville-based Locus Biosciences, a developer of precision antibacterial therapies, will conduct the world’s first clinical trial of a recombinant bacteriophage therapy, a major milestone for the field, the company announced.

Locus has opened enrollment for a Phase 1b trial of a potential treatment for urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. The study will evaluate LBP-EC01, a bacteriophage “cocktail” that has been engineered with the gene editing technology CRISPR Cas3 to target the E. coli genome.