Ventria Bioscience has announced a $4.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund the development of new therapeutics targeting Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), a leading bacterial cause of diarrhea in the developing world.

Ventria will use the grant to develop potential treatments for ETEC using its ExpressTec technology, which has been shown to be cost-effective and safe with respect to the  biomanufacture of synthetic colostrum proteins such as lactoferrin and lysozyme. The goal is to develop a new oral treatment that could be delivered economically on a large scale, said Ventria president and CEO Scott E. Deeter.

According to the company, ETEC is estimated to account for between 280 million and 400 million cases of diarrhea a year in children under the age of 5, as well as an estimated 157,000 deaths annually.

"The burden of gastrointestinal and diarrheal diseases in the developing world is devastating, causing hundreds of millions of people to suffer, taking the lives of the least fortunate, and draining the resources of caregivers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," said Seymour Fein, chief medical officer at Ventria. "ETEC infection cries out for an effective treatment that can be delivered on a large scale in areas struggling with poverty, and the Gates Foundation initiative brings hope to patients and societies afflicted by this disease."