Calla Lily Clinical Care has been selected by the non-profit Wellcome Leap to join its $50m Focused Antibiotics programme.
The programme aims to reformulate existing antibiotics to spare the gut microbiome without losing treatment efficacy, to address the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Wellcome said that this approach could reduce the global annual occurrence of antibiotic-driven resistant infections by as much as 40%
Other partners also selected to take part in the programme include Stanford University, the University of Pennsylvania, Tranalab Private Limited and RTI International, among others.
A growing crisis
According to research, if left unaddressed, AMR is projected to contribute to more than eight million deaths annually by 2050.
This resistance develops largely through the selective pressure created by antibiotic use. Although 85-90% of infections are localised, nearly all antibiotics are administered systemically, driving gut damage and promoting the emergence and expansion of resistant bacteria.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most prevalent outpatient infections worldwide and the most common bacterial infection in women.
As a result, women are prescribed almost 40% more antibiotics from the ages of 16 to 54 than men — therefore, they are disproportionately affected by the downstream systemic effects.
An innovative delivery solution
Calla Lily Clinical Care will evaluate the use of its proprietary Callavid drug delivery platform to deliver antibiotics directly via the vaginal wall, bypassing GI transit and first-pass metabolism.
Usage of the platform — which comprises a patented leak-free, tampon-like design to allow for more comfortable delivery of medicines and hormones — is expected to confine systemic exposure to under 5%.
Currently, no mass-produced vaginal formulation for first-line UTI antibiotics exists.
The British company has already achieved important clinical milestones for its delivery platform through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded FREEDOM trial, which is currently evaluating vaginal delivery of progesterone using Callavid.
The company also announced a collaboration with Merck back in February this year to develop the platform further.
Dr Lara Zibners, co-founder and Chair of Calla Lily Clinical Care, said: "Women are disproportionately impacted by urinary tract infections, yet the consequences of that repeated systemic exposure have been largely overlooked."
"Organisations such as Wellcome Leap play a vital role in tackling major healthcare challenges through bold innovation."
We are honoured to be part of the Focused Antibiotics programme and to explore the potential of Callavid in a foundational antibiotic application, demonstrating how women's health innovations can deliver benefits far beyond fertility and reproductive care.
Thang Vo-Ta, co-founder and CEO of Calla Lily Clinical Care, added: “Being selected by Wellcome Leap, one of the world's most ambitious health innovation funders, is a significant validation of what we are building at Calla Lily Clinical Care."
"Our ambition has always been for Callavid to become the defining platform for intravaginal drug delivery across a wide range of indications."
The Focused Antibiotics programme gives us the ideal partner to pursue one of the most consequential of those indications: treating the world's most common bacterial infection in women while helping to address a global resistance crisis that, left unchecked, could claim eight million lives annually by 2050.
"This marks a pivotal moment in demonstrating that when you solve for women, you solve for everyone."
The project will be led by Dr Serena de Gelidi, Principal Investigator and R&D Manager at Calla Lily Clinical Care, who holds a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering and brings more than thirteen years of medical device research experience.
