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                                                                   EXHIBIT 10.22

                              HELIX BIOMEDIX, INC.
                             22122 - 20TH AVENUE SE
                                BOTHELL, WA 98021

October 1, 2006

Lori Bush
3491 E. Danish Road
Sandy, UT 84093

Dear Lori:

Our Board of Directors, our management team, and I are confident you possess the
experience and qualifications we are seeking to assist us in making the Company
a highly successful business. On behalf of Helix BioMedix, Inc. (the "Company")
we are pleased to offer you the position of Chief Operating Officer on the
following terms and conditions.

Subject to the fulfillment of any conditions imposed by this letter, the terms
of your position with the Company will be as set forth below:

1.   POSITION:

You will be Chief Operating Officer, working out of 3491 E. Danish Road, Sandy,
UT 84093. As such, you will have responsibility for overseeing all of the
Company's operations involving marketing and business development activities,
including product strategy, technology licensing and partnerships, and general
organizational strategy. You will report to R. Stephen Beatty, the Company's
President and Chief Executive Officer.

You agree to the best of your ability and experience that you will at all times
loyally, honestly and conscientiously perform all of the duties and obligations
required of and from you pursuant to the express and implicit terms hereof.
During the term of your employment, you further agree that you will devote all
of your business time and attention to the business of the Company, the Company
will be entitled to all of the benefits and profits arising from or incident to
all such work services and advice, you will not render commercial or
professional services of any nature to any person or organization, whether or
not for compensation, without the prior written consent of the Company, and you
will not directly or indirectly engage or participate in any business that is
competitive in any manner with the business of the Company. The Company
acknowledges your existing relationships with Matrixx Initiatives, Inc., Nu Skin
Enterprises, Inc., Lumiport, LLC, Estee Lauder and Acne 1, LLC (a/k/a Derma
Ventures), provided that you shall nonetheless be available to the Company in a
full-time capacity and shall not violate the Company's standard proprietary
invention assignment agreement.

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Lori Bush
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2.   START DATE:

We would like for you to commence your employment with the Company on October 1,
2006.

3.   PROOF OF RIGHT TO WORK:

For purposes of Federal immigration law, you will be required to provide the
Company with documentary evidence of your identity and eligibility for
employment in the United States. Such documentation must be provided to us
within three (3) business days of your date of hire, or our employment
relationship with you may be terminated.

4.   COMPENSATION:

BASE SALARY:

You will be paid an annual salary of $250,000.00. Your position is classified as
exempt and, as such, you will not be eligible for overtime pay. Your salary will
be payable semi-monthly pursuant to the Company's regular payroll policy
including standard withholding such as Medicare and social security taxes.

HEALTH, MEDICAL, LIFE INSURANCE AND VACATION BENEFITS:

You and your family will be eligible to participate in the Company's health,
medical, and life insurance plans that will be described to you in detail under
separate cover. We provide a competitive health, medical insurance, and life
insurance plan to the Company's employees. You shall be entitled to receive
three (3) weeks paid vacation per year in accordance with the Company's existing
policies.

ANNUAL REVIEW:

Your base salary will be reviewed at the end of each calendar year as part of
the Company's normal salary review process, commencing in 2007.

5.   STOCK OPTION GRANTS:

In connection with the commencement of your employment, the Company will
recommend that the Board of Directors grant you an option to purchase 250,000
shares of the Company's common stock with an exercise price equal to the fair
market value on the date of the grant. These option shares will vest over a
three-year period in six equal installments of 41,667 shares on the last day of
each six-month period commencing on April 1, 2007.

In addition, the Company will recommend that the Board of Directors grant you
options to purchase an aggregate of up to an additional 250,000 shares of the
Company's common stock with exercise prices equal to the fair market value on
the respective dates of grant as follows: (i) upon the receipt by the Company of
net revenue from the sale of peptides and/or peptide

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Lori Bush
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royalties of at least $1.0 million in 2007, you will be entitled to receive an
option to purchase 125,000 shares of the Company's common stock; and (ii) for
each additional $250,000 of net revenue received by the Company from the sale of
peptides and/or peptide royalties in 2007 up to a cumulative aggregate of $3.0
million (including the initial $1.0 million referenced in clause (i) above), you
will be entitled to receive an option to purchase an additional 15,625 shares of
the Company's common stock. These option shares will be fully vested and
exercisable as of the respective date of grant.

The options will be incentive stock options to the maximum extent allowed by the
Federal tax code and will be subject to the terms of the Company's 2000 Stock
Option Plan and the respective Stock Option Agreements between you and the
Company, including with respect to vesting and exercisability upon a "Change of
Control Event" as defined in the 2000 Stock Option Plan.

6.   ARBITRATION AGREEMENT/PIAA/CONFIDENTIALITY OF TERMS:

Upon commencement of your employment with the Company, you agree to execute and
deliver to the Company its standard forms of arbitration agreement and
proprietary invention and assignment agreement. You also agree not to disclose,
either directly or indirectly, any information, including any of the terms of
this agreement, regarding salary, bonuses, or stock purchases or option
allocations to any person, including other employees of the Company; provided,
however, that you may discuss such terms with members of your immediate family
and any legal, tax, or accounting specialists who provide you with individual
legal, tax, or accounting advice.

7.   AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT/PRIOR CONSULTING AGREEMENT:

Your employment with the Company will be on an "at will" basis, meaning that
either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time for any
reason or no reason, without further obligation or liability. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, in the event that the Company terminates this employment
relationship without "cause" or you terminate this employment relationship for
"good reason" (as such terms are defined below), the Company will pay you a
severance benefit equal to six months of your then current base monthly salary.
This benefit will be paid on a monthly basis in accordance with the Company's
customary payroll schedule, minus deductions required by law, and is conditioned
upon the execution by you of a full release of all claims related to your
employment with the Company and the termination thereof. For purposes of the
immediately preceding sentence, the term "cause" shall means if you: (i) are
convicted of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or
physical harm to any person or relating to the business of the Company or any
successor company (or enter a pleas of guilty or nolo contendere with respect
thereto); (ii) repeatedly report to work under the influence of alcohol or
illegal drugs; (iii) substantially and repeatedly fail to perform the duties as
reasonably directed by the President of the Company or any successor company,
(iv) are found by a court of competent jurisdiction to have made unauthorized
use or disclosure of confidential information or trade secrets; or (v) engage in
gross negligence or willful misconduct in carrying out your duties as an
employee of the Company or any successor company; and the term "good reason"

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Lori Bush
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shall mean the occurrence (without your express written consent) of any of the
following: (a) any reduction by the Company in your base salary; (b) the
relocation by the Company of your principal work location to a place more than
50 miles from your current work location; or (c) the assignment by the Company
to you of duties or title of a substantially lesser status or degree of
responsibility than the duties or title currently assigned to you.

You acknowledge and agree that that certain Agreement by and between you and the
Company dated as of May 18, 2006 by which you agreed to provide certain
consulting services to the Company is hereby terminated and shall no longer be
of any force or effect. that 25% of the shares of the Company's Common Stock
issuable upon exercise of the warrant referenced in Exhibit A thereto shall have
vested, and that vesting with respect to the balance of the shares of the
Company's Common Stock issuable upon exercise of such warrant shall hereinafter
cease.

8.   RELOCATION/TRAVEL:

You shall be entitled to use business class for overseas business travel and to
be reimbursed by the Company for such use upon presentation to the Company of
receipts and other documentation in accordance with the Company's expense
reimbursement policies. Neither party has any current expectation regarding your
relocation, which is subject to change only upon mutual consent.

To indicate your acceptance of the Company's offer, please sign and date this
letter in the space provided below and return it to me. This letter, together
with the PIIA referenced above, set forth the terms of your employment with the
Company and supercedes any prior representations or agreements, whether written
or oral. This letter may not be modified or amended except by a written
agreement, signed by the Company and by you.

                                        With best regards


                                        ----------------------------------------
                                        David H. Kirske
                                        Vice President and Chief Financial
                                        Officer
                                        Helix BioMedix, Inc.

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Lori Bush
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ACCEPTED AND AGREED:


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Signature

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Date