Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that clinical microbiome data from its Phase 2a clinical trial of RP-G28 in patients with lactose intolerance were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science ("PNAS-Plus") PNAS 2017; Early Edition, published ahead of print January 3, 2017. The paper titled, "Impact of short-chain galactooligosaccharides on the gut microbiome of lactose-intolerant individuals," reports findings on the Company's lead therapeutic candidate, RP-G28, a short-chain galactooligosaccharide ("GOS"). The data validates RP-G28's mechanism of action and supports the product as a potential treatment for lactose intolerance. The newly published microbiome data provides further insight into RP-G28's Phase 2a 2013 clinical trial, which has lead to a Phase 2b/3 377-subject clinical trial (results expected in 2017). The results of the study demonstrated that RP-G28 significantly modulated the gut microbiome composition of lactose intolerant individuals. Significant changes in the diversity of the microbiota occurred in GOS/RP-G28 treated subjects upon reintroduction of dairy into the diet. Key bacterial taxa changes included increases in lactose-fermenting Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Faecalibacterium, and those changes correlated with a symptomatic improvement in tolerance to lactose (the sugar present in dairy foods). Notably, 90% of the RP-G28 treatment group showed a bifidogenic response compared to other GOS studies, which reported a bifidogenic response in 50% of the treated subjects.