10087804Harnessing the power of engineering biology to develop and translate novel live biotherapeuticsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKIn this exciting collaborative project, NCIMB, an established Scottish biotechnology company, is teaming up with GitLife Biotech (GLB), a spinout from Newcastle University. The partners aim to develop new innovative products and services using groundbreaking Engineering Biology protocols. The proposed project centres around the development of a new class of therapeutic based on living bacteria. We aim to use engineering biology to enhance the functionality of a probiotic that has been used for several decades to support gut health. We will focus on engineering a specific metabolite that plays a key physiological role in the gut helping to maintain a balanced gut microbiome and gut health. This is important because imbalance or dysbiosis of the gut microbiome is associated with a broad range of diseases. If successful, we will develop a new engineered bacterial strain that can be used maintain a healthy gut microbiome and can therefore be used to prevent or treat disease. In the project, we will use GLB's innovative cloud-based "version control" and biosecurity platform, that captures and organises biological data including DNA sequence produced during the project. The software links the data to the microbial strain using a unique, non-coding DNA sequence (GenoStamp(tm)) which is introduced during the project. The DNA sequence differentiates the engineered strain from similar strains within the same species. Upon completion of the engineering process, strains will be DNA signed with GenoGuard(tm) to provide a mechanism to prove ownership and secure the engineered bio-asset. If successful, our project will deliver a novel engineered bacterial strain with clinical potential, complete with a transparent digital footprint and full ownership traceability. The potential health benefits add significant market value to a probiotic strain and we envisage the engineered therapeutic strain would be transformative for patients suffering from bowel cancer, inflammatory bowel disease or infection. There are considerable spillover benefits for the version control" and biosecurity platform in a wide range of products and applications that use engineered microbes.