Innovative technologies to effectively treat multi-drug resistant and/or biofilm-embedded bacteria

Antibiotic resistance is a major concern for both military and civilian populations. The US FDA reports that about 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one drug. Caldera Pharmaceuticals proposes to develop novel antibacterials for the control of bacterial pathogens that are problematic for the military, focusing on resistance due to biofilms. Caldera’s XRpro® will be used to conduct discovery-phase steps using a system that identifies compounds that kill bacteria but are non-toxic to human cells. Harvard collaborators will help to design and conduct studies to determine whether antibacterials are effective against clinical multi-drug-resistant bacterial strains.