Akthelia Pharmaceuticals gets EU Horizon Grant for IN-ARMOR project

Akthelia Pharmaceuticals, a preclinical drug development startup, and the University of Iceland have jointly secured a €6 million EU Horizon Grant for the IN-ARMOR project.

The joint IN-ARMOR project is anticipated to develop new innate immune system inducers to deal with antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a global health threat, and minimize infections, including two of the top three priority-1 infections.

The project is also expected to minimize antibiotic development, resulting in a long-term cost reduction of €107 billion and a reduction in disease burden of 97 million disability-adjusted life years, according to Akthelia Pharmaceuticals.

Egill Masson — Akthelia Pharmaceuticals CEO said: “We are thrilled that our cutting-edge technology, developed in collaboration with the University of Iceland, has received this prestigious grant.

“The IN-ARMOR project focuses on novel immune system inducers and is a testament to the potential of our approach to address the global challenge of antimicrobial resistance.

“The funding propels our ground-breaking research to address not only infections caused by bacteria but also inflammation and the challenge of viral and fungal infections, where fewer treatment options exist.”

The IN-ARMOR project will augment a current drug platform for its first target indication through computer-aided drug design and in-silico approaches, besides a nanotech-based drug delivery system.

The antimicrobial resistance therapy, with the potential to save more than four million lives worldwide, will undergo pre-clinical and clinical validation for safety and efficacy on completion.

The project includes nine universities, research institutes, and seven medical and industry partners across nine countries of the European Union.

Horizon Europe, with a budget of €95.5 billion, is a vital funding program for research and innovation in the European Commission.

Antimicrobial resistance is recognized as one of the top 10 health threats facing humanity by the World Health Organization (WHO). Alongside multi-drug resistance, antimicrobial resistance is believed to contribute to more than five million deaths annually.