Bactobio Ltd

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections, impacting 50-60% of women during their lifetimes. UTIs are also the UK's leading infection in healthcare settings and responsible for 18,000 life-threatening bloodstream infections each year. ❯70% of UTIs are caused by _E. coli_: a WHO critical priority bacterial pathogen asso...

Modern farming relies on synthetic fungicides to support crop yields. Unfortunately, these chemicals are often associated with environmental and human health risks and are increasingly failing due to development of resistance. In the UK, wheat represents the primary arable grain crop, with an annual production of 15.5Mn tonnes and a market value of £1.2Bn...

Antimicrobial resistance is a significant and growing threat to healthcare systems. ❯1.2Mn people die from drug-resistant infections every year, rising to 10Mn by 2050\. Resistance exists against all major antibiotic classes and no new classes have reached the clinic in 30 years. New drugs against deadly pathogens are needed now to ensure these infections...

Modern farming relies heavily on synthetic pesticides to secure crop yields. Synthetic fungicides come with environmental and health risks and are failing due to development of resistance. Treatment typically requires 1-5 applications per season, repeating at 10-14 day intervals during high risk periods. Potato late blight is the UK's most demanding plant...

New antimicrobials (antibiotics, antifungals and fungicides) are an urgent need. Each year ❯1.2Mn people die from drug-resistant infections and fungal crop diseases resulting in yield losses of up to 50% for major crops. For new antimicrobials to work against this backdrop of resistance, they must be chemically different from existing solutions, meaning t...

Nontuberculous mycobacteria(NTM) are a group of bacteria responsible for over 100,000 deadly lung infections annually. Infections predominantly impact immunocompromised patients and the cystic fibrosis(CF) community, with ❯10% of people with CF infected. High levels of intrinsic antimicrobial resistance and persistent infections have made these pathogens ...

Introduction of antibiotics to the clinic less than 100 years ago extended life expectancies by ❯20 years and permitted development of medical interventions which were previously impossible. These treatments are now at risk from spreading drug resistance as bacteria constantly evolve to resist them, meaning our current repertoire is becoming increasingly ...

Over 150Mn people are affected by severe fungal diseases each year with 1.7Mn deaths globally. The most severe infections include invasive aspergillosis (IA): a major healthcare-associated infection with mortality rates of up to 95%. Current therapeutic options for IA are limited to three drug classes with low efficacy, severe adverse effects, and high tr...

Potato late blight is one of the most damaging diseases facing England's crops. Untreated, it can devastate crops within 2 weeks of infection. Each year the disease is estimated to cause £3.5Bn in direct losses and control costs, including £800Mn in EU and UK alone. Managing blight requires the most fungicide applications of any crop in the UK, with growe...

_Z. tritici_ is the most damaging wheat pathogen, responsible for yield losses of up to 50% annually. Farmers use up to 3 fungicide applications to manage this disease, but widespread use of chemical fungicides is causing pathogen resistance. We urgently need novel fungicides. This project will exploit Baccuico's library of natural compound-producing bact...

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a rapidly escalating healthcare crisis, estimated to cause 700,000 deaths globally per year, and predicted to rise to 10Mn by 2050, potentially a bigger killer than cancer and diabetes, combined. Treating AMR currently costs the NHS £180Mn per year. A combination of overuse and misuse of our current antibiotics has led to...