Archive for category: LSTM

New antibiotics are crucial in the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

Assessing the effectiveness of new antibiotics requires standardised high-quality infection models, readily available to stakeholders developing new antibacterial treatments. The Innovative Medicines Initiative project COMBINE is developing a standardised in vivo pneumonia model to test small molecule antibiotics. This model is now being evaluated through a unique collaboration with some of the main actors in the field: CARB-X & CAIRD, iiCON, and Pharmacology Discovery Services.

Through this collaboration, key stakeholders will be able to share expertise and data, strengthening the validation studies of the COMBINE pneumonia model through testing by multiple organisations. This is part of an ongoing effort to develop a standardised protocol for the in vivo pneumonia model. Data from the model will also support the establishment of a reference strain bank of clinically relevant, well-characterized Gram-negative strains. COMBINE is also providing a framework to bridge the gap between preclinical data and clinical outcomes using mathematical modeling approaches.

The pneumonia model will support harmonisation, and the collaboration between COMBINE, CARB-X, CAIRD, iiCON and Pharmacology Discovery Services will improve quality through input and advice on the general strategy and standardisation parameters. The collaboration has been consolidated through agreements that enable the sharing of data and expertise, and exchange of ideas on study design for validation and benchmarking studies. The work on the pneumonia model is led by a team at Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, with COMBINE in vivo experiments will be performed at three different project partner sites: Statens Serum Institut, Paul-Ehrlich-Institut and GSK in order to test reproducibility between different laboratories.

“I am pleased that the protocol that COMBINE has developed for the standard pneumonia model works well with the isolates and antibiotics tested so far. Further studies are now in progress to fully characterise the model, and we look forward to making the protocol available to the AMR community,“ said Lena Friberg, Professor of Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics at Uppsala University, who is leading the COMBINE efforts on translation.

CARB-X will play an important role in this work by supporting the validation of the pneumonia model with approved antibiotics used in clinical settings, with CAIRD leading the work to provide a benchmark for new experimental antibiotics through back-translation of clinical data from human plasma and lungs.

iiCON, a consortium led by Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) with core partners LifeArc, Unilever, Evotec, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, and Infex Therapeutics, is another strategic partner.

iiCON partners within the Antimicrobial Pharmacodynamics and Therapeutics (APT) group at the University of Liverpool and Infex Therapeutics are working to support the development of experimental models of invasive bacterial and fungal diseases and mathematical modelling to ensure optimal dose selection. Another important part of the work will be facilitated by Pharmacology Discovery Services, supplying data on the efficacy of standard antibiotics in mouse lung infection models.

Professor Janet Hemingway, founding director of iiCON, said:

“In the global fight to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) , knowledge sharing and collaboration is essential to drive forward new solutions. We’re delighted to be supporting the evaluation of COMBINE’s pneumonia model and to be working together with these key global organisations to pool our expertise and jointly advance our capability against AMR.”

COMBINE has a coordinating role in the AMR Accelerator, a cluster of public-private partnership projects funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). The initiative brings together academia, pharma industry, patient organisations, non-profits and small and medium sized companies to develop a robust pipeline of antibiotics.

“We are excited to bring standardised tools to those working to fill the pipeline with new antibiotics, and proud to be part of a community of stakeholders working together to combat antimicrobial resistance”,

said Anders Karlén, Professor of Computer-Aided Drug Design & project coordinator.

• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) and self-funded charitable medical research organisation, LifeArc, are partnering to launch a new Translational Development Fund to help tackle infectious diseases.
• LifeArc will invest £2.7 million into the fund, which will support the progression of new technologies and treatments for emerging viral threats and neglected tropical diseases.
• LifeArc will also join the LSTM-led Infection Innovation Consortium: iiCON, making its platform to progress antibody-based treatments available to partners.
• The partnership aims to help address the urgent need for new approaches to infectious diseases, which cause millions of deaths globally each year, with numbers escalating due to factors such as climate change.

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) has entered into a partnership with the self-funded charitable medical research organisation, LifeArc, which will join the LSTM-led Infection Innovation Consortium: iiCON and establish a £2.7m Translational Development Fund.

The research fund is being set up in response to a growing need for new and innovative treatments and diagnostic technologies to help tackle growing threats to health across the globe, including neglected tropical diseases and emerging viral threats.

The COVID pandemic highlighted the impact new viruses can have on our society and this new fund will support the progression of potential interventions, including diagnostics, treatments and devices. Infectious diseases currently cause millions of deaths globally each year with the impact expected to worsen due to factors such as climate change, migration and intensive farming.

The fund will be available to LSTM and iiCON partners and their collaborators, including research organisations in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), and will have a focus supporting interventions that are appropriately aligned with deployment and treatment of patients in LMICs.

As well as the fund investment, LifeArc will make its antibody humanisation platform available to iiCON and its collaborators, to support the development of new potential treatments. Antibodies can trigger the immune system to help treat disease, and this platform enables promising antibodies from lab research to be modified, so that they can be used in people. LifeArc’s expertise and track record of success has helped transform the way many conditions are treated, with more than 90 antibodies humanised over the past 30 years, contributing to five licenced medicines.

LifeArc’s expertise will be made available commercially to any organisation domestically or internationally via a new platform at iiCON. This platform has been designed to provide partners and researchers in the field with streamlined access to LifeArc’s leading capabilities.

iiCON is a consortium led by LSTM with core partners including LifeArc, Unilever, Evotec, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust, University of Liverpool, and Infex Therapeutics. The c£250 million programme brings together industry, academia, and clinicians to accelerate the discovery, development and deployment of new treatments and innovations– saving and improving millions of lives through collaborative innovation.

Professor David Lalloo, Director of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine said:

“This Translational Development Fund will not only help us to tackle the true diseases of poverty that impact the lives of some of the world’s poorest communities, but also allow us to prepare for the emerging threats of the future. This partnership between LSTM, LifeArc and iiCON will provide a number of significant opportunities for businesses, researchers and clinicians working in the antibody humanisation space and beyond. Facilitating access to advanced capabilities and new collaborations in this way will be a real boost to getting new therapies to market by helping overcome development obstacles and unlocking the potential of new innovations.”

Professor Janet Hemingway, Founding Director of the Infection Innovation Consortium: iiCON, said:

“Working with LifeArc to create a new platform focused on antibody humanisation marks an exciting milestone for both iiCON and for the development of tomorrow’s medical therapies. Our approaches to infectious disease research, prevention, and control are very closely aligned and we’re looking forward to seeing the vital breakthroughs that this collaboration will progress.

“The partnership with LifeArc underlines a core aspect of our mission at iiCON, which is to connect the dots across the health and life sciences sector to ensure that the best ideas and the newest technologies get the support they need to achieve significant, real-world results.”

Dr Mike Strange, Head of Global Health at LifeArc, said:

“LifeArc is committed to investing over £100 million in global health, with a focus on infectious diseases, over the coming years. We are delighted that partnering with LSTM and iiCON is part of this. The consortium’s aim of accelerating the discovery and development of innovative new treatments, diagnostics, and preventative products for infectious diseases, aligns with our own global health strategy. It also mirrors the remit of LifeArc – using translational science to turn lab-based discoveries into medical breakthroughs that can be life-changing for patients.”

“Our work in antibodies has had real impact for patients in other areas and we are pleased that we will also be able offer this platform and expertise to iiCON partners. We look forward to seeing what we can achieve together over the coming years.”

iiDiagnostics will enable industry engagement and commercial access to the world-leading diagnostics R&D capability and facilities at LSTM.

Dr Fiona Marston is to become LSTM’s Entrepreneur in Residence after being awarded a place on the Royal Society’s scheme for 2021.