Prokaryotics receives $2.5 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases as a SBIR. The two-year agreement will fund research by Prokaryotics on the restoration of beta-lactam efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococci..

$299,999 will fund studies to improve potency and pharmacokinetic parameters of the adjuvant. Contingent on the success of the first phase, second phase funds of $2.2 million will be used to drive towards selection of a single pre-clinical candidate which could be paired with intravenous as well as orally-administered beta-lactam antibiotics to treat MRSA infections in both hospital and out-patient settings.

Terry Roemer, Ph.D., founder and chief scientific officer of Prokaryotics claimed “We greatly appreciate NIAID’s leadership in providing research funding for such a critical area, where new antibiotics are critically needed to treat patients with infections caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens, including MRSA”.

The relentless advance of the antibiotic drug resistant bacteria has raised concerns whether within the next 2-3 decades we could be facing a ‘pre-antibiotic era’ where existing antibiotics will become largely ineffective in treating serious and life-threatening infections.  Indeed, the World Health Organization has projected that the impact on human health and economic costs associated with antibiotic drug resistance will rival that of global warming.