Sector(s): Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Life Sciences
About Opportunity:
The Challenge
K. pneumoniae is classed by WHO as posing a severe threat to human health and is responsible for a variety of common hospital acquired infections. Klebsiella pneumoniae is highly drug resistant and is rapidly becoming the cause of untreatable infections globally. Understanding the molecular tricks the bacteria uses to become resistant is likely to be key to identifying new effective antibiotics that avoid these resistance mechanisms.
Technology
A series of K. pneumoniae strains with key phenotypes associated with resistance, including enhanced efflux, virulence and outer-membrane stability, which can be used to characterise and profile the activity of new antibiotic candidates to identify those able to circumvent these resistance mechanisms.
Exemplification Data
Comprehensive genetic and phenotypic data on each of both wildtype and mutant strains and dose response data to selected antibiotics including fluroquinilones and tetracyclines.
The Challenge
K. pneumoniae is classed by WHO as posing a severe threat to human health and is responsible for a variety of common hospital acquired infections. Klebsiella pneumoniae is highly drug resistant and is rapidly becoming the cause of untreatable infections globally. Understanding the molecular tricks the bacteria uses to become resistant is likely to be key to identifying new effective antibiotics that avoid these resistance mechanisms.
Technology
A series of K. pneumoniae strains with key phenotypes associated with resistance, including enhanced efflux, virulence and outer-membrane stability, which can be used to characterise and profile the activity of new antibiotic candidates to identify those able to circumvent these resistance mechanisms.
Exemplification Data
Comprehensive genetic and phenotypic data on each of both wildtype and mutant strains and dose response data to selected antibiotics including fluroquinilones and tetracyclines.
Key Benefits:
- A different target to investigate and screen against.
- Useful as a model system for other Gram-negative bacteria.
- Ability to screen new antimicrobials to assess if they would be susceptible to known pathways of drug-resistance
Applications:
IP Status: - Useful as a model of various Gram-negative bacteria
- Drug molecule screening and resistance mechanism profiling
Development Status:
Early stage laboratory Data
Publication:
De Majumdar S et al. Elucidation of the RamA Regulon in Klebsiella pneumoniae Reveals a Role in LPS Regulation. PLoS Pathogens 2015.
Veleba M et al. Characterization of RarA, a Novel AraC Family Multidrug Resistance Regulator in Klebsiella pneumoniae. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2012.
The University of Edinburgh is seeking commercial partners to license this technology and/or collaborate on further development of the technology for commercial use.
