A major £3.2million grant will fund the development of new treatments for fungal diseases in the battle against global antifungal drug resistance.
The Medical Research Council (MRC) Programme grant led by Professor Elaine Bignell, Co-Director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MRC CMM) at the University of Exeter, and National Institute of Health and Care Research Exeter Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR Exeter BRC) researcher, brings together an alliance of world leading centres, St. George’s University Hospital London and the University of Liverpool to tackle antifungal resistance via a consortium called Fungi-CARE (Combinations Against Resistance Emergence), comprised of scientists, clinicians and pharmacologists.
Fungal diseases kill more than a million people annually. The new research programme will focus upon Candida species, which are found on and in the human body, and that can cause fatal infections usually in patients with weakened immunity or after surgery. There are very few antifungal drugs and Candida species are increasingly resistant to them, calling for urgent solutions.
The ambition of Fungi-CARE is to find new ways to improve how we use antifungal agents. Elaine Bignell, Principal Investigator of the project, said: “Antifungal drug resistance is a global threat, the suppression of which requires connected networks of multidisciplinary researchers. We are delighted that the MRC has provided this essential funding to find solutions for antifungal drug resistance, and we look forward to joining forces to tackle this problem”.
Professor Tihana Bicanic, Professor of Infectious Diseases and Mycology at St George’s University London, added: “Through optimising antifungal drug combinations, we have prevented resistance and halved the acute mortality from fungal meningitis in Africa, and we are now very excited to work together to develop and test similar approaches for the other commonest life-threatening fungal infections globally, including invasive candidiasis.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has sounded the alarm on the increasing danger posed by infection with Candida species and implications for public health. Invasive Candidiasis, the most common invasive fungal infection in the UK, affects thousands annually with patients in intensive care units particularly susceptible.
The Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology (MRC CMM) is a £25 million joint venture between the MRC and the University of Exeter, and represents one of the most ambitious strategic investments in medical mycology worldwide. The Centre has a global impact with satellite units in South Africa and Brazil and a new unit planned in Asia, and is committed to pioneering cross-disciplinary research that covers areas of scientific, translational and clinical importance.
The MRC CMM hosts cutting-edge medical mycology research and technologies and is home to 24 academic staff and Early Career Fellows, 76 medical mycology trainees and 78 international collaborators, all of whom are supported by the NIHR Exeter BRC’s clinical mycology theme.
Exeter BRC Mycology theme lead, Prof. Adilia Warris said: “The emergence of antifungal drug resistance is challenging the treatment of invasive fungal infections in the clinic resulting in poor outcomes, and therefore needs urgent attention. The Fungi-CARE consortium led by Prof Bignell is addressing this problem by optimizing the use of the limited number of antifungal drugs we have available to treat invasive fungal infections in the clinic, as well as developing new treatments. This research is directly aimed at improving the outcome of life-threatening fungal infections and will be of huge benefit for patients suffering from these infections”.
- Co-Investigators:
- Professor Neil Gow (University of Exeter),
- Dr Jane Usher (University of Exeter),
- Professor Tihana Bicanic (St George’s University of London),
- Professor Tom Harrison (St George’s University of London),
- Professor William Hope (University of Liverpool) and
- Dr Kat Stott (University of Liverpool)