Bacteria-fighting technology of Agile Sciences that could find new applications treating wound infections has won the company a $545,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Raleigh, North Carolina-based Agile has received a phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research Grant “SHIFT” grant. The SHIFT awards are part of a new type of SBIR grant from the NIH intended to support academic research that is being translated into commercial products and services.
Agile Sciences, a startup company spun out of North Carolina State University, has discovered compounds that fight biofilms — colonies of bacteria that appear as a slimy film. The company’s technology is based on the research of Agile Sciences’ co-founders John Cavanagh, an NCSU biochemistry professor, and Christian Melander, an NCSU chemistry professor. Agile’s compounds don’t kill bacteria, they disperse them. The compounds are derived from sea sponges, which have this biofilm dispersal capability.
Agile has received several grants, including a $150,000 award from the National Science Foundation to study the technology’s application in water filters. Agile is now developing its compounds for applications treating drug-resistant bacterial infections, which are responsible for an estimated 100,000 deaths in the United States each year. In July, the company received a separate $300,000 NIH grant for a one-year phase 1 study targeting bacterial infections in chronic wounds.
The SHIFT grant will go toward further research of pharmaceutical applications. In a statement, CEO Keith Stoneback said that a pharmaceutical application is a top priority for the company and the grant will allow the company to hire new workers.
