Glox Therapeutics, a company pioneering the development of precision antibiotic therapies based on naturally occurring bacteriocins, has announced it has secured £1 million in grant funding from PACE (Pathways to Antimicrobial Clinical Efficacy).
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The funding will help to accelerate the development of Glox Therapeutics’ novel antibiotics targeting drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. It will also enable the company to expand its team and foster further collaboration with industry experts.
Glox Therapeutics is developing an entirely new class of antimicrobials based on proprietary protein bacteriocin engineering platforms. These potent therapeutics target specific pathogens, or a closely related group of pathogens, to selectively eradicate drug-resistant bacteria with unprecedented efficacy. Unlike conventional antibiotics, these do not harm the human microbiome, ensuring a more effective treatment strategy with reduced side-effects.
PACE has awarded Glox Therapeutics £1 million to further the development of its narrow-spectrum antibiotics targeted at E. coli and K. pneumoniae. These frequently multidrug-resistant pathogens are a major cause of serious conditions, such as pneumonia, blood stream infections and recurrent urinary tract infections, and are associated with high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-related mortality. The initial focus will be on hospital- and ventilator-associated pneumonias.
PACE was founded in 2023 by LifeArc, Medicines Discovery Catapult, and Innovate UK with a £30 million programme of funding and support to be deployed over five years. It seeks to fund and support global AMR innovators with the best science. Projects in the PACE portfolio receive funding and additional support, including R&D advice and access to a UK network of delivery partners, to drive the projects forward for onward investment and ultimately closer to clinical impact.
Dr James Clark, CEO and co-founder, Glox Therapeutics, said: “We are grateful to PACE for their support and recognising the groundbreaking potential of our unique technology. Glox Therapeutics is one of only a handful of companies to have been selected for PACE funding so far which is a true testament to the expertise of our world-leading team.
AMR poses a significant threat to human health globally and this grant will enable us to expand our team and progress the development of our innovative engineered bacteriocins to help combat two of the most life-threatening pathogens.”