Date: 2012-01-18
Type of information: Grant
Company: Pherecydes Pharma (France)
Investors: DGA -
Amount: €900 000
Funding type: grant
Planned used: the financing will be used to finance PACOBURNS project that aims to explore the place and potential of bacteriophages as a means to fight against bacterial infections, particularly against multi-resistant bacteria to antibiotics.
Others: Pherecydes Pharma, a company specializing in research and development of lytic bacteriophage for therapeutic and diagnostic use, has received funding of 900,000 euros from the Directorate General for Armament (DGA) as part of the project PACOBURNS.PACOBURNS aims to explore the place and potential of bacteriophages as a means to fight against bacterial infections, particularly against multi-resistant bacteria to antibiotics. It is also promoting the use of phages as a crediblalternative to antibiotics. The project will assess, therapeutic efficacy, safety and pharmacodynamics of two phage cocktails in relevant animal models. The first cocktail is for infections caused by Escherichia coli, the second to those caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa on burn wounds superinfected by these resistant organisms.
Pherecydes Pharma will provide its expertise in the isolation and purification of lytic bacteriophage capable of destroying certain bacterial strains, including strains become resistant to antibiotics. Through its extensive collections of bacteriophages (including the largest collection in the world of bacteriophages against E. coli), the company will generate the two cocktails used in this project. Pherecydes Pharma will also provide biophages under conditions of Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), the completion of liquid formulas, and preliminary tests in vitro. Preliminary tests conducted in rats have shown a complete lack of toxicity, tolerance and a perfect 100 percent efficiency.
Project partner, the Institute of Genetics and Microbiology, University Paris XI will take place in electron microscopy and sequencing of bacteriophage
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
