The AMR Centre at Alderley Park has entered into a co-development agreement with US biotechnology company Microbiotix.
The Cheshire-based research and development facility for new antibiotics and diagnostics said its new partnership with Microbiotix will help accelerate the development of its lead bacterial virulence drug candidate.
As part of the agreement, they will combine resources and leverage their antimicrobial R&D expertise to accelerate the development of Microbiotix’s T3SS (type III secretion system) inhibitor project, which was awarded up to $3.2m from CARB-X in March 2017.
The AMR Centre will provide Microbiotix with up to $1.1m of technical support including over $600,000 of project funding to identify a drug candidate to take into clinical trials.
“We are pleased to be working with Microbiotix to help address the critical unmet need for therapies targeting drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria,” AMR Centre’s executive director Pete Jackson said.
“This is very much a co-development and as such our UK-based scientists are actively working on what candidates to take forward. We believe that this innovative project, which targets a World Health Organisation Priority 1 and ESKAPE pathogen, has the potential to reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance.”
Terry Bowlin, president and CEO of Microbiotix, added: “This agreement with the AMR Centre will significantly accelerate our ability to deliver a pre-clinical candidate.”
Last Week, the AMR Centre announced it had signed an agreement with Alderley Park to take on some new laboratories, which will be available from early October.