The research project “Identification and validation of novel drug targets in Gram-negative bacteria by global search: a trans-system approach, –AntiPathoGN-” was launched in February 2009 by a consortium of thirteen institutions –academic and industrial- from four European countries. With a duration of three years, this Collaborative Project is supported by funding under the Seven Framework Programme of the European Union.
The AntiPathoGN project proposes a novel strategy for the discovery of new antimicrobial drug targets in a number of Gram-negative bacteria. This strategy is based on a comparative, system-level analysis of molecular processes involved in pathogenicity, drug resistance, cell division and/or growth of selected pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria through a combination of computational biology, interactome discovery, in-vivo protein-blocking and structural biology techniques. This comparative analysis, at one organization level above genomics, shall permit the discovery of new potential drug targets, relevant to both species-specific and broad-spectrum antimicrobial strategies. Identified targets will be subject to validation.
In addition, the AntiPathoGN project will pursue the identification of novel antibacterial compounds acting against previously validated targets by systematically screening purpose-specific libraries of products derived from natural resources and from synthetic compounds. The activity of hit compounds resulting from the screens will be validated against a collection of pathogenic strains.
The Consortium comprises seven small or medium enterprises with strong expertises on several of the key technological aspects of the project –Infociencia S.L., Spain; Microbionta S.L., Spain; Proteros Biostructures GmbH, Germany; InterMed Discovery GmbH, Germany; Bio-Xtal SàRL, France; Clinical Investigations Bulgaria EOOD, Bulgaria; two non-profit private foundations which are two of the most important institutes in the emerging biomedical research environment of Barcelona, Fundació Privada Institut de Recerca Biomèdica; Fundació Privada Clínic per a la Recerca Biomèdica; and two academic partners with groups having internationally recognized tracks on experimental and theoretical studies of protein structure and interactions - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain; Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Germany.
