Use of Synthetic Biology methods to enhance and optimise production of a novel antibiotic

Demuris has a pipeline of novel antibiotics produced by a variety of different actinobacteria. The leading molecule is presently made by an organism that is not ideal for large scale fermentation, and the compound structure may not yet be optimal in terms of pharmacological properties. We wish to identify the antibiotic producer gene cluster and re-engineer it for production in an optimized chassis for production of actinobacterial natural products based on Streptomyces venezuelae (Sven). Pathway engineering will be used to generate analogues of the lead antibiotic, which will be used to facilitate drug optimization and IP protection.