Project description
Bacterial membrane vesicles tackle antibiotic resistance
The emergence of antibiotic resistance alongside the very few drugs in the development pipeline means that gram-negative bacteria are now high on the list of medical priorities. The EU-funded BacDrug project proposes to overcome the barrier of the highly selective outer membrane of gram-negative pathogens through lipid-based bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs). BMVs are produced by non-pathogenic Lactococcus lactis and serve as a delivery system for drugs. Due to their nanoscale size, BMVs can pass through the bacterial membrane and kill drug-resistant gram-negative pathogens. This therapeutic approach has the potential to tackle antibiotic resistance, with obvious benefits for human health.
Objective
"Bacterial infections are a significant public health challenge and a major cause of human mortality globally. Antibiotics are indispensable for the treatment and prevention of infections caused by bacteria. However, global spread of drug-resistant bacteria, coupled with a dearth of new antibiotics in development has led to an alarming shortage of effective drugs. Gram-negative bacteria, in particular, protect themselves against antibiotics with a highly selective outer membrane. The high burden of diseases caused by Gram-negative bacteria, combined with their frequent multi-drug resistance has placed them as world´s highest-priority pathogens by the World Health Organization. Consequently, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic approaches that combat Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. The goal of ""BacDrug"" is to use lipid-based bacterial membrane vesicles (BMVs) produced by non-pathogenic Lactococcus lactis as delivery system. BMVs have great potential as nanocarriers to by-pass the outer membrane and deliver their toxic payload to kill drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens. A range of strategies will be used to load BMVs with cargo, including genetic engineering of L. lactis as well as chemical treatments. This Fellowship will harness expertise and techniques across microbiology, molecular biology, nanotechnology and drug design to deliver a successful outcome. The collaborative, truly interdisciplinary, cross faculty setting within the groups of Prof Molly Stevens (materials and bioengineering) and Dr Andrew Edwards (molecular microbiology) at ICL combines world-class expertise and provides an environment to maximise the success of this Fellowship, both in terms of the delivering the project and the training opportunities provided. Moreover, this innovative, alternative strategy to tackle drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections has a high translational potential, which will be exploited via the clinical and translational research clinics at ICL."
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 health sciences public health
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medicinal chemistry
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug resistance multidrug resistance
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
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.
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
SW7 2AZ London
United Kingdom
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.