The enemy is the bacterial BIOFILM. A biofilm is an extracellular structure that most bacterial colonies generate which allows them to adhere to surfaces and most importantly, to resist external attack. The film is made up of proteins and biopolymer-like substances which, after decades of evolution due to over-prescription and overuse of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine, grows thicker and is virtually impenetrable to modern antimicrobials and antibiotics. Biofilm is irreversibly associated with a surface, meaning it cannot simply be washed off with conventional rinsing or sterilization methods. Biofilms are the leading component of all antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacterial infections, especially multidrug resistant strains, which caused a staggering 700,000 deaths in 2016.
Aequor has developed the derivatives from this primary natural molecule; all present biofilm dispersing, antibiotic and/or biocidal properties. Such a significant development leads to a number of direct impacts which are summarised as follows. They all
- remove existing biofilm;
- control bacterial and fungal contamination, infection, and fouling in a new way;
- promise to overcome the great challenges currently presented by drug-resistant; bacteria and fungal strains and biocide-resistant fouling;
- prevent the ability of bacteria to colonize by inhibiting their ability to form biofilm.
ABD and the four backup molecules chosen for this development are small molecules with antibiofilm and antimicrobial properties. The ABD new drug product development plan (PDP) is intended to scale up production of ABD and take it from its current TRL of 6 through pre-clinical trials. This would represent advancement to TRL8, where the ABD will be ready to enter clinical trials and begin the process of achieving REACH regulatory approval. Following certification of ABD as an approved new active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the commercialisation plan is focused on the establishment of a joint venture or licensing agreement with a drug manufacturer certified for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) to produce ABD at industrial scale and integrate it into commercial products for marketing and sale to end users. This will lead to achieving TRL9.
