- In its second year an innovative artificial intelligence-based approach to fight antimicrobial resistance with dual-acting antimicrobial and antibiofilm peptides from Madam Therapeutics was selected to join the AiCubator initiative as the first new Resident in 2022
- “AiCubator” was launched by AiCuris mid-2020 to provide long-term support for early but promising research projects in the field of anti-infectives
Wuppertal, Germany, April 08, 2022 – AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG, a leading company in the discovery and development of drugs against infectious diseases, today announced the first winner of the AiCuris AiCubator initiative in 2022, the second year of the company’s accelerator program. Submitted projects in the field of anti-infectives were evaluated by AiCuris experts on various criteria, including status of target identification, preliminary efficacy data on hits, addressed indications and potential competitive advantages to existing standards of care. Over a period of up to three years, the winning projects will benefit from AiCuris’ scientific and preclinical / clinical development support and expertise and understanding of the industry to advance their ideas and approaches.
“We are excited to welcome the first winner of the AiCubator Resident Status in 2022,” said Dr. Holger Zimmermann, CEO of AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG. “Outstanding and novel approaches are needed to face today’s healthcare threats and combat antimicrobial resistance and complex infections. The AiCubator program was launched to find and promote exactly those projects – projects that bear the promise of an innovative drug based on exciting new scientific approaches.”
“The good experiences we made during our first year of the AiCubator initiative encourage us to further support promising early projects based on new scientific principles and ideas to fill pipeline gaps, tackle anti-microbial resistance and prevent future pandemics,” he added. “We are very much looking forward to working with the selected project team and supporting Madam Therapeutics to bring their project to the next level.”
The Project: Artificial intelligence and a unique peptide approach to fight complex bacterial infections.
Madam Therapeutics, a biotech company from Oss, the Netherlands, has established an extensive library of selective, dual-acting so-called synthetic antimicrobial and antibiofilm peptides (SAAPs) with a unique mode of action that are highly efficient in killing multi-drug resistant pathogens under physiologically challenging conditions without inducing resistance. In addition, SAAPs eliminate established biofilms formed by bacteria to protect them against the human immune system and antibiotic treatments. By using artificial intelligence, the company identifies the best SAAP variants to develop targeted drug candidates against different antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a variety of indications. Madam Therapeutics generated pre-clinical proof-of-concept (POC) data in superficial wound infections, implant infections, as well as pulmonary and bladder infections, showing that SAAPs outperform many of the known preclinical- and clinical-phase antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The initial targeted therapeutic indications include infected diabetes food ulcers (DFU) and sepsis.
“We are delighted to participate in the AiCubator program and to benefit from the deep experience AiCuris has demonstrated in the field of anti-infective development,” said Remko van Leeuwen, CEO of Madam Therapeutics. “Based on a joint commitment to fight antimicrobial resistance, we hope, with the support of AiCuris, to accelerate the achievement of new milestones in the further development of our dual-acting SAAPs, a new generation of resistance-breaking antibiotics.”
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