Microbial Enzymatic Drug Modification to Improve Treatment Outcomes

The major healthcare imperatives are to deliver effective prevention and treatment of diseases. Whist pharmaceutical intervention of disease progress is effective in many cases, the use of medicines can also lead to adverse reactions resulting in the need for further medical intervention, compounding the cost of therapy. The aim of this project is to further develop a platform product, already used in part by the pharmaceutical industry, to allow the greater exploration of the chemical space of a potential drug to overcome the main cause of adverse reactions, polymorphic variation of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs). Hypha currently uses microbial biotransformations to produce metabolites and effect lead molecule-diversification for Pharma-based clients. The feasibility of a cell-free version of the product will be assessed to target advantages comprising speed of delivery and use in a kit form, enabling Pharma clients to innovatively deliver improved medicines with more predictable properties.