New antibiotic class proves effective against MRSA
Phico Therapeutics to take PT1.2 lead candidate into clinic
Barcelona, April 19 2008: At ECCMID, the annual European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Cambridge UK-based Phico Therapeutics presented new data on the rapid bactericial activity of its lead compound against MRSA. PT1.2 belongs to a new class of antibacterial proteins called SASPs that act by binding to bacterial DNA and halting replication and gene expression, resulting in rapid cell death. Phico Therapeutics now intends to take PT1.2 into clinical trials using its unique delivery platform technology called SASPjectTM
According to Phico Therapeutics CEO Dr Heather Fairhead, these results could lead to a major breakthrough in the fight against both hospital- and community-acquired infection. "The study, carried out in conjunction with the UK’s Health Protection Agency, showed that SASP was rapidly bactericidal against all 10 different MRSA isolates gathered from across the US. Indeed in the speed of kill assay, SASP caused a 99.9 % drop in viability within 2 mins against the 105 culture and a >99.9 % drop in viability within 10 mins against the 107 culture. This data gives us the confidence to take PT1.2 into the clinic. Furthermore, our additional SASPjectTM candidates are showing potential against E. coli , and C. difficile with SASPjectTM targeted to other drug resistant bacteria in development".