Sarum Biosciences Limited (“Sarum”) and PBL, the UK technology management company, today announced the signing of an exclusive worldwide licence agreement which enables Sarum to develop and exploit therapeutic and diagnostic applications of a bacteriophage endolysin protein for the treatment and detection of Clostridium difficile, a serious healthcare concern both within the UK and the rest of the world.

The bacteriophage endolysin technology was developed by scientists at the Institute for Food Research in Norwich (IFR), with support from the BBSRC’s Follow on Fund, and exploits naturally occurring proteins expressed by bacterial viruses (bacteriophage) that have very specific antibacterial activity. A targeted antibacterial approach to the treatment of C. difficile, such as that promised by the endolysin technology, is ideal for the treatment and prevention of this particular infection as it does no damage to the normal bacterial populations in the gut – the broad nature of existing antibiotics, and the loss of normal bacteria during antibiotic use is very often the cause of C. difficile-associated disease. Treatment with the endolysin has the potential to destroy or suppress the C. difficile infection, while allowing the re-establishment of normal levels of “good” bacteria in patients.

Dr. David West, CEO of Sarum commented: “This C. difficile endolysin technology has the potential to become an important weapon in our fight against this important healthcare problem. Sarum is pleased to have secured this exclusive licence which adds another dimension to the company’s existing bacteriophage-based product pipeline.”

Dr. Martin Stocks, Business Development Manager of PBL commented: “The IFR endolysin technology could be a vital tool for ridding the healthcare industry of the scourge of Clostridium difficile infection. In Sarum, we have found a first class partner with the expertise and experience to develop the technology and bring it to market.”

"Using bacterial endolysins has been of interest to IFR for many years in the food context," said Dr Arjan Narbad of the IFR, an institute of the BBSRC, which funded the study. "Now we have an endolysin that is active specifically against C. difficile we are looking forward to developing it into a potent weapon against this problem."