Projects

Clostridium difficile (C.difficile)

C.difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is a growing problem both in the UK and worldwide, with both rates and severity increasing. Antibiotic therapy often does not discriminate between harmless bacteria which are essential for a healthy gut and potential pathogens such as C.difficile. Extended antibiotic treatment can damage the fine balance of the gut microbial community, allowing C.difficile to prosper and, potentially, cause disease.

Sarum is developing bacteriophage-based treatments which are very specific for C.difficile with the potential to both treat and prevent CDAD whilst retaining the body’s natural balance of gut bacteria.

“Phage images on this website have been supplied by the Phagehunters at the Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute (http://www.pitt.edu/~biohome/Dept/Frame/pbi.htm).”

acne

Acne is a common problem, afflicting many teenagers and, in some cases, persisting into adulthood. The condition is a complex one with various factors involved, but one of the aggravating factors common to most cases is the involvement of the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes. Many current acne treatments seek to eliminate this bacterium but they do so in ways which can be either irritating to the skin and/or so broad in their anti-bacterial action that it eliminates all bacteria, not just those causing acne, thereby unsettling the skin’s natural flora.

Sarum Biosciences developed its acne technology in collaboration with Professor Keith Holland’s world leading research group at the Skin Research Centre in the University of Leeds (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/src) now the Leeds Skin Centre for Applied Research

'Diagnostics - further information coming soon'