News
GNA NOW consortium expands its scope to support the under-studied condition of severe diarrhoea
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a worldwide challenge, disproportionately impacting the least developed nations. There is an urgent need to find innovative strategies to expand access to available antibiotics for conditions of high medical need in these geographies.
In line with this, the GNA NOW consortium, coordinated by Lygature, is proud to announce the start of an exciting new programme from new consortium partner, GSK. Enriching the GNA NOW portfolio and broadening the scope of the project, the new programme is focused on developing treatments for severe diarrhoea, targeting four gram-negative bacteria: Shigella, Campylobacter, E. coli, and Salmonella.
Commenting on this new development, Dr. Kristina Orrling, Global Health Portfolio Co-Lead at Lygature in charge of coordinating the GNA NOW Consortium, said: “Severe diarrhoea, especially in small children, is an often-overlooked condition with a critical need for new treatments. We see a worrying prevalence of resistance, particularly in strains affecting the world's youngest and most vulnerable populations.”
Scheduled to continue until the end of 2025, the consortium will gather and analyse bacterial strains from low- and middle-income countries. Work is also being undertaken to develop various target product profiles (TPPs). To ensure the programme’s effectiveness, the team will engage with experts in the field, particularly those with experience in low- and middle-income countries. Planned round-table discussions with these experts will primarily focus on refining the TPPs.
GSK's involvement in GNA NOW marks a significant addition to the consortium. The new pharma partner takes over the scientific leadership from Evotec, which departed following the conclusion of its programmes within the consortium.
Dr. Kristina Orrling added: “The GNA NOW consortium is grateful for Evotec’s scientific leadership role over the last years and for the substantial contribution made towards the progression of several development projects. At the same time, we look forward to continuing the consortium with GSK taking over this role”.
Acknowledgment of support
The project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 853979. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA.