MetalloBio and The University of Sheffield Secure EPSRC Funding to Develop Antimicrobial Coatings
MetalloBio and the University of Sheffield have secured £10,000 Knowledge Exchange funding from EPSRC to develop a novel antimicrobial coating. The team at MetalloBio will work closely with Dr Frederik Claeyssens in The Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Dr Esther Karunakaran from The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and The Sheffield Collaboratorium for Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilms (SCARAB).
The funds will be used to develop a hard lacquer coating containing MetalloBio’s two antimicrobial lead compounds. The company is seeking to attract further investment, funding and/or partnerships to develop the coatings for use in medical devices.
Based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, MetalloBio is focussing on the development of novel antimicrobials to treat pathogenic, multi-drug resistant, Gram-negative bacterial infections. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat. Currently AMR is responsible for 700,000 annual fatalities, it is predicted by 2050 this could rise to 10 million deaths per year costing a £66 trillion loss to the global economy.
MetalloBio will be exploring the development of the technology as a systemic antimicrobial and a coating within medical devices. Antimicrobials are required to prevent biofilm formation on medical devices such as catheters, stents, endotracheal tubes and prosthetic limbs.
Kirsty Smitten, CEO of MetalloBio, said: “We hope this funding from EPSRC will allow us to complete fundamental proof-of-concept studies that can be leveraged to secure further funding or facilitate future partnerships to accelerate our technology’s development.”
For further information contact:
MetalloBio Limited
Kirsty Smitten
email: metallobio@gmail.com