Frontier IP Group plc Amprologix to develop new antibiotics with Ingenza
20 September 2018 - 4:01PM
RNS Non-Regulatory
TIDMFIPP
Frontier IP Group plc
20 September 2018
RNS Reach
AIM: FIPP
20 September 2018
Frontier IP Group Plc
("Frontier IP" or the "Group")
New Portfolio Company - Amprologix to develop new antibiotics to
help combat antimicrobial resistance in partnership with
Ingenza
Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising university
intellectual property, today announces it has taken a 10 per cent
stake in Amprologix Limited ("the Company"), a spin-out from the
University of Plymouth.
The company has been established to introduce new antibiotics,
helping to tackle antimicrobial resistance, a major threat to human
health globally. It will develop and commercialise the work of Dr
Mathew Upton, Professor in Medical Microbiology at the University's
School of Biomedical Sciences.
The first product from the Company is expected to be a cream
containing epidermicin, one of the new antibiotics being developed
to combat infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Epidermicin can rapidly kill harmful bacteria including MRSA
(methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Streptococcus and
Enterococcus at very low doses, even if they are resistant to other
antibiotics.
No new classes of antibiotics have been introduced into clinical
use for the past 30 years, and the company is aiming to meet a
growing need for new antibiotics as harmful microbes become
increasingly drug resistant.
It has already secured industry involvement through a
partnership with world-leading biotechnology and synthetic biology
company Ingenza.
The new company is focused on four areas:
-- Developing epidermicin for commercial use
-- Discovering additional sources for new classes of antibiotics
-- Using Artificial Intelligence to improve antibiotic
properties, working with Ingenza, IBM and the National Physical
Laboratory
-- Developing efficient techniques to manufacture antibiotics at
scale in partnership with Ingenza
In a relevant infection model, a single dose of epidermicin was
as effective as six doses of the current standard of care. The
antibiotic was initially recovered from a skin bacterium named
Staphylococcus epidermidis, but can now be produced in a microbe
suitable for industrial scale-up, using synthetic biology methods
developed by Ingenza.
Professor Upton initially developed the patented technology
working closely with UMI3 Ltd at The University of Manchester,
which now takes a 13 per cent stake in the new business.
The World Health Organisation warned in February this year that
"antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global
health, food security, and development today".
A UK government review in 2015, chaired by economist Jim
O'Neill, estimated that by 2050, the global cost of antibiotic
resistance will rise to US$100 trillion and drug resistant
infections will cause 10 million deaths a year, eclipsing the
current toll from cancer and diabetes combined. The government
estimates there are currently 5,000 deaths each year in the UK
because antibiotics no longer work for some infections.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/30-million-of-funding-to-tackle-antimicrobial-resistance
Neil Crabb, chief executive of Frontier IP, said: "We are
delighted to work with Amprologix to commercialise these
potentially life-saving antibiotics, and with a leading industrial
partner in the area. It is further sign our business model is
gaining traction with universities and industry alike."
Professor Mathew Upton, chief scientific officer of Amprologix,
said: "It is very exciting to form a new company to take forwards
our portfolio of novel antimicrobial compounds. Epidermicin, our
lead candidate antibiotic, has excellent potential for treating and
preventing serious, drug resistant infections. With our current
team, the company will be the ideal vehicle to take epidermicin to
the clinic."
Dr Ian Fotheringham, managing director of Ingenza, said: "This
unique partnership fully exploits the synergy of Ingenza's
versatile bio-manufacturing technologies and Amprologix's lead in
discovering exciting new antimicrobial classes, spearheaded by Dr
Upton's innovative research."
ENQUIRIES
Frontier IP Group Plc T: 0131 240 1251
Neil Crabb, Chief Executive
Andrew Johnson, Communications & Investor M: 07464 546 025
Relations
andrew.johnson@frontierip.co.uk
Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk
Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser T: 0131 220 6939
and Joint Broker)
Neil McDonald / Beth McKiernan
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited T: 020 7469 0935
(Joint Broker)
Lucy Williams
Kreab (Financial PR) T: 020 7074 1800
Robert Speed / Matthew Jervois
NOTES TO EDITORS
Frontier IP unites science and commerce
by identifying strong intellectual
property and accelerating its development
through a range of commercialisation
services.
The Group looks to build and grow
a portfolio of equity stakes and licence
income by taking an active involvement
in spin-out companies, including support
for fund raising and collaboration
with relevant industry partners at
an early stage of development.
Frontier IP and the University of
Plymouth:
Frontier IP has forged a strong relationship
with the University of Plymouth to
commercialise intellectual property.
Other collaborations include:
* Fieldwork Robotics: developing advanced soft robotics
for harvesting fruit and vegetables. The technology
has attracted strong industry interest.
* The Vaccine Group: work includes creating novel
vaccines to prevent viruses from jumping the species
barrier from animals to humans
* Pulsiv Solar: US and European patents granted on its
novel technology to improve the energy efficiency of
photovoltaic cells and power conversion
* Molendotech: the company has developed a novel test
to detect faecal bacteria in water, which is now
being commercialised by Palintest, a subsidiary of
FTSE 100 life protection and hazard detection group
Halma
* PoreXpert: the company has developed sophisticated
software to model in three dimensions the porosity of
materials
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END
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