Innovative peptide-based products for companion animal health and infection prevention
Companion animals face many of the same antimicrobial resistance challenges as humans. Overuse of conventional antibiotics in veterinary medicine has led to resistant infections that are increasingly difficult to treat.
Amphoraxe is developing peptide-based solutions specifically formulated for companion animal health, offering effective treatment options that reduce the risk of resistance development while keeping our pets healthy.
The three main bacterial pathogens that cause ear infections in dogs are Staphylococcus spp. (Gram-positive), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative), and Enterococcus faecalis (Gram-positive). Below are our top-performing peptides against each pathogen, ranked by minimum inhibitory concentration, alongside antibiotic benchmarks for comparison.
Shorter bar = lower MIC = more potent
S. aureus
Gram +P. aeruginosa
Gram −E. faecalis
Gram +*MIC values are minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values (µg/mL) across all experiments conducted. MIC90 = concentration inhibiting 90% of isolates.
Sources: 1 Jerzsele A et al. (2015). Acta Microbiol Immunol Hung 62(1):45-55. PMID: 25823453 · 2 Vingopoulou EI et al. (2018). Vet Microbiol 213:102-107. PMID: 29291992 · 3 Mekic S et al. (2011). Vet Rec 169(5):125. PMID: 21742683 · 4 Saed HA et al. (2025). Antibiotics 14(1):99. PMID: 39858384 · 5 Azzariti S et al. (2022). Antibiotics 11(9):1204. PMC: 9494949 · 6 Kwon J et al. (2022). Vet Sci 9(11):592. PMC: 9695832 · 7 Hollenbeck BL, Rice LB (2012). Virulence 3(5):421-569. PMID: 23076243 · 8 Redgrave LS et al. (2014). Trends Microbiol 22(8):438-445. PMID: 24842194 · 9 KuKanich KS et al. (2022). J Vet Pharmacol Ther 45(5):454-462. PMID: 35698441 · 10 Ferran AA et al. (2016). Front Microbiol 7:1187. PMID: 27531995
Our top-performing peptides against each of the three primary canine ear infection pathogens.
S. aureus
Gram +Antibiotic Resistance Rates
P. aeruginosa
Gram −E. faecalis
Gram +Antibiotic Resistance Rates
Unlike conventional antibiotics that target specific molecular pathways, antimicrobial peptides disrupt bacterial membranes through physical interaction. This fundamental difference in mechanism is central to our research focus:
HC50 & CC50 values 30–70× above MIC in our experiments — wide safety margin for host cells
Membrane-targeting mechanism makes resistance evolution fundamentally difficult
Active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens — multiple candidates show cross-pathogen activity
Multi-peptide formulations enable broad-spectrum coverage
Bars represent relative potency (1/MIC) normalized to the most potent peptide per pathogen. MIC values are minimum inhibitory concentration (µg/mL) across all experiments conducted. E. faecalis is intrinsically resistant to cephalosporins, clindamycin, and aminoglycosides (as monotherapy) 7 — common vet antibiotics have no clinical activity against this pathogen.
Sources: 3 Mekic S et al. (2011). Vet Rec 169(5):125. PMID: 21742683 · 5 Azzariti S et al. (2022). Antibiotics 11(9):1204. PMC: 9494949 · 6 Kwon J et al. (2022). Vet Sci 9(11):592. PMC: 9695832 · 7 Hollenbeck BL, Rice LB (2012). Virulence 3(5):421-569. PMID: 23076243 · 9 KuKanich KS et al. (2022). J Vet Pharmacol Ther 45(5):454-462. PMID: 35698441
Our AI-driven discovery platform has identified 23 unique antimicrobial peptides with activity against the three primary canine ear pathogens. Below are our top-performing candidates ranked by minimum inhibitory concentration.
Shorter bar = lower MIC = more potent
S. aureus
Gram +P. aeruginosa
Gram −E. faecalis
Gram +MIC values are minimum inhibitory concentration (µg/mL) across all experiments. HC50/CC50 values indicate the concentration at which 50% hemolysis or cytotoxicity occurs — higher values indicate greater safety margins.
Low toxicity: All candidates show HC50 & CC50 values of 128–140 µg/mL — far above their effective MIC concentrations, providing wide therapeutic windows.
Low resistance risk: AMPs target bacterial membranes through physical disruption, making resistance development fundamentally more difficult than with conventional antibiotics.
Synergy potential: Multiple peptides active against overlapping pathogen profiles enable broad-spectrum combination products tailored to clinical need.
Our discovery platform has identified 23 antimicrobial peptides with potent activity across the three primary pathogens responsible for canine ear infections. By selecting the best-performing candidates against each pathogen, we are developing a combination product with broad-spectrum coverage.
Pipeline Summary
Combination Product Strategy
Our top-performing peptides against each of the three primary canine ear infection pathogens, ranked by minimum inhibitory concentration. Multiple candidates show activity across pathogen boundaries, enabling broad-spectrum combination formulations.
23 unique peptides identified · Shorter bar = lower MIC = more potent
S. aureus
Gram +P. aeruginosa
Gram −E. faecalis
Gram +MIC values are minimum inhibitory concentration (µg/mL) across all experiments conducted.
Conventional antibiotics are losing effectiveness against common companion animal pathogens. Antimicrobial peptides offer a fundamentally different mechanism of action that sidesteps the resistance pathways undermining current treatments.
Antibiotic Resistance Landscape
The AMP Advantage
Sources: 3 Mekic S et al. (2011). Vet Rec 169(5):125. PMID: 21742683 · 5 Azzariti S et al. (2022). Antibiotics 11(9):1204. PMC: 9494949 · 6 Kwon J et al. (2022). Vet Sci 9(11):592. PMC: 9695832 · 7 Hollenbeck BL, Rice LB (2012). Virulence 3(5):421-569. PMID: 23076243 · 9 KuKanich KS et al. (2022). J Vet Pharmacol Ther 45(5):454-462. PMID: 35698441
Interested in co-developing antimicrobial peptides for companion animal health?
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