QBiotics

About QBiotics

QBiotics is a clinical-stage life sciences company that develops pharmaceuticals from novel, cell-signaling small molecules sourced from the Australian tropical rainforest. Founded in 2000 from a basement laboratory by microbiologist Dr. Victoria Gordon and forest ecologist Dr. Paul Reddell, the company leverages their combined expertise in natural ecosystems. Their journey began by observing how plants defend themselves, which led to the creation of the company's proprietary drug discovery platform, EcoLogic™. This platform uses a knowledge-based approach, analyzing plant and animal interactions to target materials with specific biological activity, resulting in a high success rate for identifying promising compounds.

The company's business model involves the simultaneous development of products for both veterinary and human markets. This strategy allows for early revenue generation from veterinary products, which also provides crucial real-world data to inform and de-risk the more extensive human clinical development programs. Revenue is generated through the sale of its approved veterinary drug, collaborations, and government R&D tax incentives, with future revenue anticipated from licensing agreements.

QBiotics' lead oncology drug is tigilanol tiglate, a small molecule derived from the seed of the blushwood tree. It is administered as an intratumoral injection for solid tumors. The drug works through a multi-modal action: it disrupts the tumor's blood supply, kills tumor cells directly, and stimulates an immune response that can also affect non-injected tumors. The veterinary formulation, marketed as STELFONTA®, is approved in the US, Europe, UK, and Australia for treating mast cell tumors in dogs, showing a 75% complete response rate after a single injection in a pivotal study. For human application, tigilanol tiglate has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for soft tissue sarcoma and is currently in Phase II clinical trials for treating soft tissue sarcomas and head and neck cancers.

The company's second key program is EBC-1013, a pharmaceutical developed for healing chronic and acute wounds. This topical gel has a multifactorial mode of action, including disrupting bacterial biofilms, recruiting immune cells, and promoting tissue regeneration with minimal scarring. Preclinical studies have shown its effectiveness, and EBC-1013 is advancing through human clinical trials, initially targeting patients with venous leg ulcers.