Funding to tackle hospital superbugs

A novel approach to treating infectious diseases is being developed by researchers at Cardiff University.

Superbugs such as MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) are resistant to one of more conventional antibiotic and require new therapies to aid the treatment of infection.

A team in the School of Medicine's Institute of Nephrology has been awarded £800,000 by the Wellcome Trust to commercially develop a protein based therapeutic to help treat infectious diseases.

Professor Nicholas Topley said: "Infectious diseases are a significant problem and the number of new antibiotics entering the market is falling rapidly whilst antibiotic resistance is increasing. The funding from the Wellcome Trust will help bring the pioneering new approaches developed in the School of Medicine to the market."

Research into the development of novel proteins discovered by the team led by Professor Topley and Dr Simon Jones has already identified new pathways that enhance the bodies natural defence mechanisms to promote the clearance of infection. The new approach has been named "Resolution Therapeutics" by the Cardiff researchers.

It is hoped that research in the School of Medicine will lead to the development of other drugs that modify host responses with the view to resolving infection and reducing inflammation in diseases such as arthritis.

Source : Cardiff University