Frontier IP Group plc Amprologix to develop new antibiotics with Ingenza

TIDMFIPP

Frontier IP Group plc

20 September 2018

RNS Reach

AIM: FIPP

20 September 2018

Frontier IP Group Plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

New Portfolio Company - Amprologix to develop new antibiotics to help combat antimicrobial resistance in partnership with Ingenza

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising university intellectual property, today announces it has taken a 10 per cent stake in Amprologix Limited ("the Company"), a spin-out from the University of Plymouth.

The company has been established to introduce new antibiotics, helping to tackle antimicrobial resistance, a major threat to human health globally. It will develop and commercialise the work of Dr Mathew Upton, Professor in Medical Microbiology at the University's School of Biomedical Sciences.

The first product from the Company is expected to be a cream containing epidermicin, one of the new antibiotics being developed to combat infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Epidermicin can rapidly kill harmful bacteria including MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), Streptococcus and Enterococcus at very low doses, even if they are resistant to other antibiotics.

No new classes of antibiotics have been introduced into clinical use for the past 30 years, and the company is aiming to meet a growing need for new antibiotics as harmful microbes become increasingly drug resistant.

It has already secured industry involvement through a partnership with world-leading biotechnology and synthetic biology company Ingenza.

The new company is focused on four areas:

   --     Developing epidermicin for commercial use 
   --     Discovering additional sources for new classes of antibiotics 

-- Using Artificial Intelligence to improve antibiotic properties, working with Ingenza, IBM and the National Physical Laboratory

-- Developing efficient techniques to manufacture antibiotics at scale in partnership with Ingenza

In a relevant infection model, a single dose of epidermicin was as effective as six doses of the current standard of care. The antibiotic was initially recovered from a skin bacterium named Staphylococcus epidermidis, but can now be produced in a microbe suitable for industrial scale-up, using synthetic biology methods developed by Ingenza.

Professor Upton initially developed the patented technology working closely with UMI3 Ltd at The University of Manchester, which now takes a 13 per cent stake in the new business.

The World Health Organisation warned in February this year that "antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today".

A UK government review in 2015, chaired by economist Jim O'Neill, estimated that by 2050, the global cost of antibiotic resistance will rise to US$100 trillion and drug resistant infections will cause 10 million deaths a year, eclipsing the current toll from cancer and diabetes combined. The government estimates there are currently 5,000 deaths each year in the UK because antibiotics no longer work for some infections. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/30-million-of-funding-to-tackle-antimicrobial-resistance

Neil Crabb, chief executive of Frontier IP, said: "We are delighted to work with Amprologix to commercialise these potentially life-saving antibiotics, and with a leading industrial partner in the area. It is further sign our business model is gaining traction with universities and industry alike."

Professor Mathew Upton, chief scientific officer of Amprologix, said: "It is very exciting to form a new company to take forwards our portfolio of novel antimicrobial compounds. Epidermicin, our lead candidate antibiotic, has excellent potential for treating and preventing serious, drug resistant infections. With our current team, the company will be the ideal vehicle to take epidermicin to the clinic."

Dr Ian Fotheringham, managing director of Ingenza, said: "This unique partnership fully exploits the synergy of Ingenza's versatile bio-manufacturing technologies and Amprologix's lead in discovering exciting new antimicrobial classes, spearheaded by Dr Upton's innovative research."

ENQUIRIES

 
 
   Frontier IP Group Plc                                          T: 0131 240 1251 
 Neil Crabb, Chief Executive 
  Andrew Johnson, Communications & Investor                       M: 07464 546 025 
  Relations 
  [e-mail] 
  Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk 
 Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser                       T: 0131 220 6939 
  and Joint Broker) 
 Neil McDonald / Beth McKiernan 
 Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited                           T: 020 7469 0935 
  (Joint Broker) 
 Lucy Williams 
 Kreab (Financial PR)                                           T: 020 7074 1800 
 Robert Speed / Matthew Jervois 
  NOTES TO EDITORS 
  Frontier IP unites science and commerce 
  by identifying strong intellectual 
  property and accelerating its development 
  through a range of commercialisation 
  services. 
  The Group looks to build and grow 
  a portfolio of equity stakes and licence 
  income by taking an active involvement 
  in spin-out companies, including support 
  for fund raising and collaboration 
  with relevant industry partners at 
  an early stage of development. 
  Frontier IP and the University of 
  Plymouth: 
  Frontier IP has forged a strong relationship 
  with the University of Plymouth to 
  commercialise intellectual property. 
  Other collaborations include: 
   *    Fieldwork Robotics: developing advanced soft robotics 
        for harvesting fruit and vegetables. The technology 
        has attracted strong industry interest. 
 
 
   *    The Vaccine Group: work includes creating novel 
        vaccines to prevent viruses from jumping the species 
        barrier from animals to humans 
 
 
   *    Pulsiv Solar: US and European patents granted on its 
        novel technology to improve the energy efficiency of 
        photovoltaic cells and power conversion 
 
 
   *    Molendotech: the company has developed a novel test 
        to detect faecal bacteria in water, which is now 
        being commercialised by Palintest, a subsidiary of 
        FTSE 100 life protection and hazard detection group 
        Halma 
 
 
   *    PoreXpert: the company has developed sophisticated 
        software to model in three dimensions the porosity of 
        materials 
 

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September 20, 2018 02:01 ET (06:01 GMT)