Heading towards a new spin-off at the Biozentrum

11-Dec-2015 - Switzerland

Basel Biologists hope to develop a new drug to combat bacterial biofilms in the lungs of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. The Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI) is funding the project “Therapeptix” at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel with 350,000 Swiss francs. Two more Biozentrum researchers are therefore heading towards professional independence and the establishment of a spin-off.

Early next year, Dr. Chee-Seng Hee and Dr. Christoph Schmutz, from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, will take the first steps in their venture to self-employment. The aim of the CTI feasibility study ”Therapeptix”, financially supported with funds of 350,000 Swiss francs, is the development of a drug to combat bacterial biofilms in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. The findings will serve the basis for establishing a spin-off, to finally bring the drug to the market.

Along with their funding, the two research scientists will receive further support in the form of mentoring and coaching programs. And while the technology transfer organization Unitectra supports them around patenting matters, the Biozentrum will provide them with lab space and the required infrastructure.

Novel drug candidate to combat biofilms

Patients, who suffer from the disease cystic fibrosis, produce viscous mucus in their lungs due to a genetic defect. This is the ideal breeding ground for bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The microbe colonizes the lungs where it forms a resistant biofilm. The patients suffer from frequent pneumonia, which are very difficult to treat, as the bacteria embedded in a biofilm are hardly accessible to antibiotics.

Here is where the CTI project comes into action. “In the bacteria, biofilm formation is regulated by several signaling pathways”, explains Hee. “We have discovered a peptide that intercepts these pathways, thus preventing the formation of biofilms. This means that the pathogens remain susceptible to antibiotic therapy.” In the cooperation with researchers from the University Hospital Basel, Hee and Schmutz aim to develop a drug candidate for pre-clinical testing of its effectiveness in organisms.

But the potential applications are thus not yet exhausted. As bacterial biofilms found in catheters and other medical devices are often responsible for the increasing number of hospital infections, which are difficult to treat, such peptide drugs could prove to have a valuable role in this area.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/155966/heading-towards-a-new-spin-off-at-the-biozentrum.html