Phico Therapeutics Ltd, a Cambridge, UK-based biotechnology company, received £1.4m (approx. $1.87m) in funding.
Innovate UK provided the award.
The company will use the funds for the development of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa targeted therapeutic, to tackle the genetic cause of antibiotic resistance
Led by Dr Heather Fairhead, CEO, Phico is developing SASPject PT3.8, an antibacterial therapy for the systemic treatment of patients with serious Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) infections, which have a high mortality rate.
SASPject PT3.8 has been developed using the company’s SASPject™ platform, which uses an antibacterial small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP), to target and deactivate bacterial DNA, stopping bacteria from metabolizing or reproducing.
The Innovate UK funding will be used to improve the manufacturing yield of PT3.8. This includes the manufacture of a 15 litre pre-GMP batch for formal pre-clinical testing, and development of a quality management system (QMS) for manufacturing at Phico. As partners in the project, The Clinical Trial Company is developing the QMS and GE Healthcare advising on practical manufacturing processes. The program cost will total £2m ($2.65m), and the remaining funds will provided by Phico’s shareholders.
FinSMEs
01/08/2018