A collaboration project initiated by AlgiPharma, together with leading experts in fermentation at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI, Redcar, UK), has secured funding (2.700.000 NOK) from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board and Innovation Norway for a feasibility study on microbial production of AlgiPharma’s promising new alginate oligomer drug candidate, OligoG. The 9 month study will focus on developing methods for the pilot scale microbial fermentation production of OligoG at CPI, with support from our partners at SINTEF, who provide the essential expertise in laboratory scale fermentation of alginates.

The alginate oligomer fermentation project, ALGIFERM, translates 20 years of academic research into an industrial scale feasibility study. The Centre for Process Innovation Ltd.(UK) is leading the scale-up, whereas AlgiPharma AS (Norway) needs the final product as an Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient in its development of medicines for cystic fibrosis, COPD and chronic wounds, like diabetic foot ulcers. The biofilm disrupting and antibiotic potentiating technology that has been developed by AlgiPharma was recently published (Khan S., et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2012;56(10):5134-41). If the scale-up is successful it will facilitate the introduction of novel medicinal products to the market that will ease patient suffering and potentially reduce healthcare costs. In addition it will be a new tool in fighting multi-drug resistant bacteria. Both AlgiPharma and CPI will obtain help from SINTEF (Norway), in this innovative collaborative effort between Norwegian and English researchers.

The project is funded through a joint UK-Norwegian initiative between the Technology Strategy Board and Innovation Norway.

For further information, please contact:
Arne Dessen, Executive Chairman; arne.dessen@algipharma.com
Philip D. Rye R&D Director; phil.rye@algipharma.com

April 2013