Project description
Firing back at superbugs with antimicrobial peptides
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global-health crisis, driving the need for alternatives to conventional antibiotics. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), developed under the ERC-funded Peptide Killers of Bacteria project, have emerged as strong candidates. They demonstrate potent nanomolar activity against bacteria with low cytotoxicity to human cells. TThis ERC-funded FireBacteria project will evaluate the pharmacokinetics, stability, and ADMET profiles of AMPs, as well as their activity against a broader spectrum of bacterial strains. Preclinical studies in murine models will be expanded to include new infection sites and administration routes. The project also aims to assess market needs, secure IP rights, and outline a clinical development strategy.
Objective
"Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical global health threat, associated with approximately 5 million deaths annually and a severe economic burden. To combat this threat, this project aims to advance the development of our de novo designed antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) towards novel therapeutics. These AMPs, developed within our ERC Consolidator project ""Peptide Killers of Bacteria"", utilize a mechanism distinct from traditional antibiotics, namely the disruption of bacterial cell membranes. This potentially novel class of antibiotics has already achieved nanomolar antibacterial activity, while exhibiting low toxicity to human cells in our in vitro tests. The susceptible bacteria include antibiotic-resistant strains of the Gram-negative A. baumannii, K. pneumoniae, and P. aeruginosa, which are on the CDC's and WHO's list of priority pathogens. Within this project, we aim to perform key preclinical tests with our AMPs. Our goal is five-fold: [1] determine the activity spectrum against genetically diverse bacterial species and strains; [2] evaluate the stability and efficacy of our AMPs in biological fluids, as well as their ADMET properties; [3] expand the scope of our preliminary in vivo data with murine models to include an additional administration route and infected sites; [4] analyze the prevalence and incidence of target infections to better understand the market size and societal impact; and [5] investigate the market potential, secure intellectual property rights, and develop a business strategy for clinical development. Successful implementation of this project will pave the way for future clinical testing and development of our AMPs, which could lead to effective treatments for the emerging AMR crisis of antibiotic-resistant infections."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine pneumology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-POC
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
601 77 Brno
Czechia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.