I-Corps: Microbial Biopanels for High-Throughput Screening to Facilitate Drug Discovery

Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro TN

Investigators

Abstract

The increased prevalence of drug-resistant organisms has become a major concern for world health over the last 30 years. Compounding this threat is the fact that the rate at which new antibiotics are discovered has decreased significantly. Steps must be taken to increase the rate of discovery. The proposed product will be significant in the fight to develop new antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial and fungal pathogens that are the most problematic to human health. This team plans to provide scientists the tools they need to efficiently and effectively develop new therapeutics to treat infections. This I-Corps team will produce research-only, off-the-shelf consumable products containing panels of microorganisms to facilitate the initial screening of chemical libraries for the development of novel antimicrobials. The proposed product line will include panels of different microorganisms to facilitate the drug development process, such as the development of broad spectrum antibiotics or antibiotics that target specific problematic microbes. These products will eliminate the client's requirement to perform costly and labor intensive growth and assay preparations, reduce the assay preparation time by up to one week as well as decreasing experimental variability and increasing automation. During the I-Corps training program, the team will conduct numerous customer interviews to determine what types of microbial panels are of most interest to its potential customers and what pricing structure is acceptable. The team will also plans to build a prototype. Post I-Corps, the I-Corps team will seek funding for continued product development and manufacture. Steps will be taken during this time to develop an IP portfolio to protect the team's proposed process and other proprietary information; and regulatory, copyright, and trademark studies will be undertaken. Branding will be integral for the valuation of the future company as it stands to be the first to exploit this new market opportunity. Following maturation of the proposed product line, investment capital will be pursued for brand development, advertisement, distribution, and legal consultation.