Food meets pharma

More and more bacteria are becoming resistant to common antibiotics, and they are an increasing danger for hospitalized patients. A bacterium that is well known for its ability to acquire resistance to antibiotics is the (food) pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. The US based company Biosynexus Incorporated identified an enzyme, lysostaphin, that could be used as an agent against Staphylococcus aureus.

Fermentation
Biosynexus approached NIZO food research to develop a process for the production and purification of the enzyme. NIZO’s scientists were not only able to ferment lysostaphin using their proprietary technology (NICE), but they could also isolate the enzyme using their in-house homogenization, microfiltration and pilot scale chromatography knowledge and technology.

Product for clinical testing
“The unique in-house combination of knowledge in fermentation and downstream processing enabled us to literally ‘put the result on the table’ for the customer”, says Igor Mierau, project leader at NIZO. “We supplied Biosynexus with several grams of 95% pure lysostaphin, which they used for successful clinical phase 1 and 2 trials.”

Related innovations