Biopharma receives grant from Innovate UK to expand model of bacterial cell wall

Biopharmaceutical company, Oppilotech, has been awarded with a grant from Innovate UK to expand its computational model of the outer wall of Gram-negative bacteria.

Using a systems biology approach, the company is working on building a detailed, sophisticated, experimentally validated model of the outer wall of bacteria with the ultimate aim of improving understanding of this part of the bacteria and how it can be disrupted.

With the funding, this work can be expanded upon to incorporate peptidoglycan — a key constituent of bacterial cell walls — and include 3D spatial elements that can simulate entry and activities of antibacterial agents across the cell wall.

Once completed, it is hoped that the model can be used to select first-in-class viable drug targets that will form the basis for the development of the next generation of antibiotics.

“We are all aware of the growing antibiotic resistance crisis and the need for the development of novel classes of antibiotics,” commented John George, PhD co-founder/CSO of Oppilotech and reader at Leeds Beckett University. “This funding will expand our understanding of how the outer wall of Gram-negative bacteria is assembled and reveal new insights into how this wall can be disrupted. This will form the basis for the development of the next generation of antibiotics. We’d like to thank Innovate UK for providing this vital funding that will go towards developing solutions to the antimicrobial resistance crisis.”

This 12-month project is in partnership with an expert on bacterial cell wall biology — Prof. Waldemar Vollmer from Newcastle University.