Friday, 22 October 2021
Experts from the University of Nottingham have joined a Strategic Research Centre as part of a new international collaboration led by Liverpool University to accelerate the development of much needed antibiotics for cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections.
Supported by £750,000 of funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the CF Foundation in the United States, the Strategic Research Centre will develop new laboratory methods to make it quicker and easier for researchers to test new medicines for CF.
Most people with CF will develop lung infections throughout their lifetimes. Once the bugs that cause the infections adapt to the environment of CF lungs they can be extremely difficult to treat. In some cases, the bugs are becoming resistant to the strongest medicines that are available. Left untreated, these infections can trigger permanent lung damage, meaning people are more breathless and have less energy to do day-to-day activities. More effective treatments with fewer side effects are urgently needed.
Researchers around the world are currently working on the development of new medicines to treat CF lung infections. However, there are differences and gaps in how different researchers test new CF medicines in the laboratory meaning that the results are not comparable, which slows down progress.
In addition, the tests that are used were not originally designed specifically to test CF medicines. For example, the tests don’t mimic the effects of the thick sticky mucus found in the lungs of people with CF. This makes it hard to assess whether a potential medicine will work.
The new four-year Strategic Research Centre (SRC) led by Dr Jo Fothergill at the University of Liverpool with the Professor Miguel Cámara from the University of Nottingham, as the deputy lead, will develop a new set of laboratory methods specifically designed for testing new medicines for CF.
The SRC will combine expertise in understanding the infection-causing bugs Pseudomonas aeruginosa, NTM and Burkholderia cepacia complex, with expertise in developing new lab methods.
Alongside researchers from across the UK, Canada and USA, the SRC will be supported by a wide range of collaborators.
Professor Miguel Cámara from the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nottingham
Professor Cámara, Co-Director of the National Biofilms Innovation Centre at the University of Nottingham University, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to develop an innovative drug discovery pipeline which can accelerate the discovery of new drugs to treat people with CF.”
The SRC is also being supported by the CF AMR Syndicate, a partnership between the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Medicines Discovery Catapult that was created to find ways to speed up the development of new therapies for CF infections.
Dr Paula Sommer, Head of Research at the Cystic Fibrosis Trust said: “This Strategic Research Centre is a great illustration of the power of collaboration in working to solve problems in CF infection drug development.”
The SRC also involves co-investigators from Cambridge, Cardiff and Warwick; Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital; Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust; Georgia Institute of Technology in the USA and the Institut de biologie Intégrative et des systems in Quebec, Canada.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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