SEOUL, South Korea and KUMASI, Ghana, Feb. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The West Africa Centre for Innovative Research and Care (WAFCIRC) welcomed MicrobiotiX in Ghana for a formal signing ceremony, marking a historic memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the launch of a strategic research collaboration for the clinical advancement of bacteriophage-based therapies to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across Africa.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Dongeun Yong, Chief Executive Officer of MicrobiotiX, and Dr. John Adabie, Director of WAFCIRC, underscoring a shared commitment to addressing one of the region’s most urgent public health challenges. AMR places a disproportionate burden on sub-Saharan Africa, where constrained access to effective antibiotics has amplified the impact of AMR-associated infections.
Through this agreement, MicrobiotiX aims to expand its clinical research footprint beyond Asia into regions with significant unmet medical need. With a clinical program already underway in South Korea, the collaboration represents a strategic step toward globalizing MicrobiotiX’s development efforts and generating clinical evidence across diverse patient populations.
Under the MoU and the accompanying research collaboration agreement, MicrobiotiX and the WAFCIRC will conduct clinical studies to analyze AMR-associated patient samples across a range of infectious diseases and to assess the potential efficacy of bacteriophage-based therapeutic candidates. WAFCIRC, in partnership with four clinical sites in Ghana, will lead study execution, including clinical operations, patient engagement, and data management. MicrobiotiX will provide bacteriophage therapeutic candidates manufactured at its in-house GMP facility, along with funding and technical documentation to support study implementation.
“Our goal is not only to develop new therapeutics, but to establish a scalable model for clinically advancing phage therapies in partnership with local institutions. We are committed to supporting high-quality studies and knowledge transfer that strengthen long-term regional capability centered around AMR”, said Dr. Dongeun Yong, CEO of MicrobiotiX.
“AMR is a daily clinical reality in our region. This partnership brings a high-potential modality into a locally led clinical research framework—so that innovation is evaluated against real patient needs and real health-system constraints”, said Dr. John Adabie, Director of WAFCIRC.
Beyond product development, the partnership also aims to strengthen regional research capacity and contribute to broader global efforts to improve preparedness for, and response to, drug-resistant infections. By embedding phage research within African healthcare institutions and translating findings into actionable clinical evidence, the collaboration seeks to ensure emerging therapeutic approaches reflect the needs and on-the-ground realities of low- and middle-income countries while establishing a scalable model for expansion across Africa. By linking locally led clinical research with therapeutics development and manufacturing capabilities, WAFCIRC and MicrobiotiX aim to accelerate evaluation of phage-based options that could complement antimicrobial stewardship efforts and expand the clinical toolkit as resistance continues to rise.
About MicrobiotiX
MicrobiotiX is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of bacteriophage-based therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, with an initial focus on respiratory diseases. The Company is advancing a pipeline of phage cocktail candidates targeting high-priority pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are responsible for acute and chronic respiratory tract infections. MicrobiotiX leverages a proprietary bacteriophage library and integrated drug development capabilities, including PK/PD modeling and antibiotic synergy analysis, to support clinical translation. The Company operates a GMP-grade phage manufacturing facility to enable in-house production of drug material and support ongoing and future clinical development.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a1a2b9d0-1e9e-4b18-9388-c8a8db9d6c28
