Battling TB, and E. coli, centre receives increased funding (1/19/2008)

Research that has led to an antidote to the E. coli toxin and a possible drug to combat Alzheimer's disease were just two of the highlights of a centre that received $12.5 million in funding today.

The Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Carbohydrate Science has been awarded $12.5 million over the next five years in recognition of its progress in developing new vaccines and treatments for some of the world's most persistent health problems.

"This centre works at the frontier of molecular science, at the frontier of chemical synthesis, at the frontier of molecular biology, at the frontier of molecular recognition and the language of how cells communicate to one another, at the frontier of vaccine development and at the frontier of nanotechnology," said Peter Hackett, president and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity.

"This is truly an interdisciplinary centre, with a fabulous team of young researchers. It's spinning off technologies to address some of the world's most difficult health problems, problems like tuberculosis, Alzheimer's, opportunist infections, through partnerships with Alberta-based companies."

The centre's team of scientists, based at the U of A and the University of Calgary, have already patented and licensed a potent antidote for the E. coli toxin, a potential therapeutic drug for Alzheimer's and a vaccine against Candida albicans, the tenacious yeast infections that plague patients with compromised immune systems. The centre has also spun off a biotechnology company, TheraCarb, which is developing preclinical products based on these patents.

The research team is also exploring new ways of treating diseases like tuberculosis, a major threat to world health because of its growing resistance to existing antibiotics.

"The intellectual properties associated with these discoveries will fuel our current and future technology commercialization activities," said David Bundle, the centre's scientific director and a chemistry professor at the U of A.

"Leading-edge, basic science has to continue to be our primary goal, because without this we can't fill this pipeline of applications and development. But, technology transfer and commercialization and job creation in Alberta will be the criteria for success at the end of this second five-year funding period."

The hallmark of the centre is the exceptional leadership of Bundle, said Hackett.

Bundle "exemplifies what we want our scientific directors to be. He's a creative genius. He sets high standards. He's a builder and he works amazingly hard for his science and for his community. There's nothing that we've asked David to do that he hasn't done."

"We are convinced at Ingenuity that the AICCS is a jewel in the crown of the Alberta's life sciences strategy."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the University of Alberta

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