Aradigm Corporation has partnered with Professors Daniela Traini and Paul Young of the University of Sydney’s Woolcock Institute of Medical Research to develop an aerosol nanoparticle technology to combat fungal and bacterial biofilms. The project will be funded by a A$420,000 grant from an Australian Research Council Linkage Project over three years.
According to the Woolcock Institute, “The project expects to generate a single platform that can be used for the eradication of biofilms in numerous applications, from healthcare to agriculture.”
Aradigm VP Pre-Clinical R&D David Cipolla said, “We are grateful that the Australian government has chosen to fund this important collaborative program on biofilms which may lead to beneficial treatments for patients with severe lung infections. Our colleagues at the Woolcock Institute have world class expertise and equipment to study the effect of nanotechnologies on biofilms. These efforts build upon the body of knowledge that has already accumulated through Aradigm’s development of inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin formulations for treatment of severe lung infections.”
Prof. Traini commented, “The adverse impact of bacterial and fungal biofilms in the medical field including medical devices, organ transplantation and many severe infections with organisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and non-tuberculous mycobacteria, is a significant problem. Biofilms are not only ubiquitous; they exhibit a recalcitrance to control. According to the United States National Institutes of Health, more than 60% of all microbial infections are caused by biofilms. While acute infections involving motile bacteria are generally treatable with antibiotics and antifungals, once a biofilm is established the infection is often untreatable.”
Read the Aradigm press release.
Read the Woolcock Institute press release.
