The Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research (IOI) has been awarded £1 million from Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy (PACE) to develop a new class of antibiotics.
Ever since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, β-lactam antibiotics have been a mainstay of treatment for bacterial infections. These antibiotics have a β-lactam ring in their chemical structure that stops bacteria from growing and developing.
However, over time, bacteria have evolved to resist the action of β-lactam antibiotics by producing an enzyme called a β-lactamase, and this is causing increasing levels of antibiotic resistance around the world. Antibiotics are becoming ineffective in treating common illnesses such as urinary tract infections. Hospital stays for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections average around 13 days, causing an additional 8 million hospital days annually.
Scientists at the IOI have developed a new class of small molecule transpeptidase inhibitors that does not contain a β-lactam unit. Research by the IOI to date has already shown that these new inhibitors are not degraded by many β-lactamases produced by bacteria, and they have excellent activity against a broad spectrum of Gram-negative bacteria, including resistant strains of Eschericia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae.
With funding and close collaborative support from PACE, the IOI will continue developing the new molecules with the ultimate aim of creating new antibiotics. As well as synthetic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology the project will involve efficacy and safety studies to progress the new antibiotic through to preclinical development.
Antibiotic resistance threatens the foundation of modern medicine, yet it has been starved of funding for far too long. We are massively excited to be working with the PACE team on the development of a new class of antibiotics.
“The new small-class of molecule transpeptidase inhibitors discovered by our team at the IOI has the potential to treat many infections that have become life-threatening due to antibiotic resistance. We have a fantastic team of biochemists, microbiologists and chemists at the IOI and with the additional support from PACE, we are confident that we can take our work to the next phase of preclinical development.
Dr Beverley Isherwood, PACE Programme Director, said: “Congratulations to the IOI. We are delighted that they are joining our first cohort of funded projects. The new class of inhibitor being developed by the team has the potential to treat a number of difficult-to-treat infections to address the rising threat of multi-drug resistant infections. We look forward to supporting them to move their project closer to the clinic, which would have a huge impact on patients’ lives.”
In addition to the funding, the award from PACE includes R&D advice from a global network of experts, access to a microbiology platform and medicinal chemistry expertise.
PACE was founded in 2023 by LifeArc, Innovate UK and Medicines Discovery Catapult, with a £30 million programme of funding and support to be deployed over five years. Find out more about PACE on their website: PACE | Home.