ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,252,516, issued on March 18, was assigned to INTREXON ACTOBIOTICS N.V. (Zwijnaarde, Belgium).
"Mucoadhesive microorganism" was invented by Lothar Steidler (Lokeren, Belgium) and Klaas Vandenbroucke (De Pinte, Belgium).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present disclosure provides genetically modified microorganisms (e.g., bacteria or yeast) with enhanced mucin-binding and/or cell-adhesion properties. For example, the present disclosure provides bacteria exhibiting increased in vitro binding to Caco-2 cells, and increased in vitro binding to mucins. Such microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) can be used, e.g., to deliver bioactive polypeptides ...