Phico Therapeutics granted

UK-based Phico Therapeutics has been granted a Wellcome Trust Strategic Translational Award totalling £1.03m (€1.16 m) to cover Phase I and II trials of its lead candidate SASPject PT1.2 for decolonisation of MRSA and S. aureus. The award will enable Phico to conduct phase I and II clinical trials with results expected in Q3 2009 and Q3 2010 respectively.

PT1.2 is based on a new class of antibacterial proteins called SASPs that bind to bacterial DNA resulting in rapid ‘speed of kill’. If successful, PT1.2 will provide a major new weapon in the fight against MRSA and other bacterial infections.

Phico Therapeutics was founded in September 2000 with seed funding from Cambridge Research and Innovation Ltd (CRIL). The company is based at the Babraham Bioincubator.

Phico is developing a novel platform technology which has the potential to produce antibacterials active against all species of bacteria. Proof of principle of its platform technology, known as SASPject has been established in the Gram positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA) and the Gram negative bacterium Escherichia coli. Initial products are aimed at species of bacteria where antibiotic resistance is a problem.

‘There is an urgent need to develop innovative ways to manage the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the hospital and care-home environments,’ said Dr Ted Bianco, director of technology transfer at the Wellcome Trust. ‘If successful, this technology may provide an important new tool in the fight against MRSA and other pathogenic bacteria.’