Matrubials

About

Matrubials is an anti-infectives company, focused on human milk peptides as therapeutics to address antimicrobial resistance and modern diseases. Currently the global rise in severe bacterial infections and the drying pipeline of effective treatments are burdensome for healthcare and economics. Sculpted by evolution, milk, first food for the newborn, provides an exemplary solution to address the nutritive and protective challenges an infant is faced with. The anti-pathogenic molecules from milk can be developed into therapeutics geared towards all-age diseases. Our first indication is bacterial vaginosis, a bacterial dysbiosis related inflammation that results in recurrent infections, disruption of homeostasis and long-term clinical complications in women of reproductive age, including but not limited to preterm births, fertility issues and increased rates of STDs. Our next inflection point is the evaluation of rapidly acting and selective candidate peptides in pre-clinical host impact and early safety studies, which can aid clinical and portfolio development towards topical applications.

Founders

Ishita ShahFounder

Ishita M. Shah, PhD, is the CEO and co-founder of Matrubials, a spin-out from UC Davis, Foods for Health Institute. As the Associate Director (Microbial Programs) at FFHI, she has investigated the role of milk components in human health, specifically in terms of infectious diseases. Previously, Dr. Shah has worked at Genentech (Senior researcher, infectious diseases) and Columbia University (Postdoctoral scientist), receiving several awards (PhD thesis prize -(UMBC'05)/ key researcher/ speaker).

Bruce GermanFounder

Bruce is a PhD from Cornell University, Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Davis and director of the Foods for Health Institute. His research focuses on the evolution of lactation and the biological mechanisms by which milk supports the growth, development and performance of infants. He is a co-founder of companies into the therapeutic health space: Evolve Biosystems, BCD Bioscience, Digestiva Inc. and Matrubials.

Carlito LebrillaFounder

Dr. Carlito B. Lebrilla is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Davis in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine in the School of Medicine. His research is in Analytical Chemistry focused on mass spectrometry with applications to clinical glycoproteomic and biofunctional food. He has co-founded startups in Food and Biotechnology including Evolve Biosystems, BCD Bio and InterVenn.

David MillsFounder

David A. Mills is a Professor in the Department of Food Science & Technology at the UC Davis. Dr. Mills studies the molecular biology and ecology of bacteria that play an active role in gut health or fermented foods. He is the Peter J. Shields Endowed Chair (2012), a Fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology (2015), and has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics since 2018. He is also a co-founder of three start ups; Evolve Biosystems, BCD Bioscience, and Matrubials.