EF-Tu Targeting Antibody for Infection Treatment

Application

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies directed to Elongation Factor-Tu (EF-Tu) for the treatment of infections.

Key Benefits

An antibody that targets the protein EF-Tu, which is present on many types of bacteria involved in life-threatening infections.
A research-grade antibody has been developed with animal data showing the ability to reduce bacterial infection in the lungs of mice.
Potential to overcome resistance to many anti-infectives and provide a new treatment modality for many infectious diseases.

Market Summary

The global market for infectious disease treatments now exceeds $64 billion and expects significant growth due to the prevalence of infections, increasing healthcare expenditures, rising initiatives for awareness, and newly launched clinical trials. Furthermore, the monoclonal antibody market to treat infectious diseases represents about 10% of the overall $85 billion monoclonal antibody market or $8.5 billion. While effective in many cases, existing FDA-approved drugs are still limited in severe disease and subject to drug resistance. The described technology has the potential to overcome the safety and efficacy limitations of existing antibiotics for infectious diseases.

Technical Summary

EF-Tu is an essential prokaryotic protein found on the surface of a wide range of bacteria cells and has been a target for treating infection by the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers at Emory have developed a monoclonal antibody against EF-Tu in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and tested it in an animal model of acute pneumonia. Mice treated with the drug experienced significantly decreased bacteria within the lungs than those administered a placebo antibody. The inventors plan further experiments to evaluate the antibody's full potential for treating various bacterial infections.