Current scenario

Since their introduction in the 1940's, the widespread availability of antibiotics has dramatically reduced mortality and morbidity from infectious diseases caused by bacterial pathogens.

Nevertheless, infectious diseases remain the second major cause of death worldwide and there are worrying signs that many antibiotics are losing their effectiveness: they are the only therapeutic class in which the drugs of last-resort have become first-line therapy.   

This means that existing antibiotics are no longer effective in all cases and treatment options for certain micro-organisms have become scarce. New antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed. 

Aquapharm's approach

Aquapharm is actively screening extracts produced by its marine microorganisms to identify novel pharmaceuticals to negate and overcome resistant bacteria, with a primary focus on Gram-negative agents. Along with a growing number of major Pharmaceutical and Biotech companies, Aquapharm believes that the growing clinical imperative to deal with resistance will rejuvenate the antibiotic sector and dramatically increase the value of novel drugs that prove effective in countering it.     

Aquapharm's marine microbe collection is a particularly promising source of candidate compounds as the secretion of antibiotic chemicals is the primary means through which these micro-organisms try to exert selective evolutionary advantage over their competitors. This phenomenon has been underexploited compared to terrestrial microorganisms - traditionally the most productive source of the antibiotics in use today.