AiCuris GmbH & Co. KG has been awarded a three-year research grant together with the Universities of Bochum, Düsseldorf and Bonn as well as the company Squarix (Marl). This grant is a part of the research promotion program "Bio.NRW" by the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of North Rhine-Westphalia. AiCuris will obtain 833,582 Euro.

The project "Innovative Antibiotics made in NRW" is aimed to enable research and development of new antibiotics effective against life threatening multi-resistant bacteria e.g. the hospital agent MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). The grant is composed from funds of the "Ziel 2 - Programm NRW 2007-20013" (European fund for regional development) and from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Research of North Rhine-Westphalia.

In its project AiCuris will evaluate the optimisation potential of underexplored natural products together with other members of the consortium. The aim is to identify a development candidate with resistance breaking properties as a new weapon to combat resistant bacteria.

Background
The steady rise of multi resistant bacteria and the absence of new effective antibiotics against life threatening, severe infections caused by them limits or even prevents a successful therapy of these agents.

The Associations for Microbiology and Medicine as well as the governments worldwide have recognised this problem and intensify their commitment to support research and development of new resistance breaking antibiotics.

About AiCuris - www.aicuris.com
AiCuris GmbH & Co KG is a privately held company located in Wuppertal, Germany. It is devoted to research and clinical development of novel, resistance-breaking drugs for the treatment of viral infections like HCMV, Herpes, Hepatitis B, HIV and Hepatitis C as well as resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial infections in hospitals. Furthermore, the portfolio comprises two immune modulators.