Vaxdyn leads the KLEBSIELLA project to work on the prevention of one of the most worrisome antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Vaxdyn leads the KLEBSIELLA research project against the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, which directly causes more than 650,000 deaths worldwide each year.
KLEBSIELLA is a consortium research project to improve the clinical incidence of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae, directly responsible for more than 650,000 deaths each year worldwide.
Through this proposal, results will be obtained to overcome barriers to the commercialization of new solutions to protect vulnerable populations. Vaxdyn brings to the project the K-Vax vaccine, developed thanks to the support of the international accelerator CARB-X. Key aspects of the mechanism of action and quality will be clarified in order to design the clinical efficacy trials that will allow licensing the vaccine to pharmaceutical companies. Vaxdyn will be supported by the National Microbiology Center of the ISCIII, the Technological Center Leitat, the Institute of Parasitology and Biomedicine López Neyra of the CSIC and the Reig Jofre laboratories. The solution consists of providing the vulnerable population with vaccine-enhanced immunity to contain the spread of K. pneumoniae without the need to resort to antibiotics.
The other important contribution to improving the clinical management of patients is related to diagnosis. The Grenadian company Clover Biosoft will validate a tool for the ultra-rapid diagnosis of K. pneumoniae infection, linked to the characterization of the strain responsible. In this way, it will be possible to make earlier clinical treatment decisions with more information. In addition, the Technological Center Leitat will develop an immunodetection tool with integrated microfluidics to monitor the state of the infection and the response to vaccination, with applications both in the hospital clinic and in the clinical development of the K-Vax vaccine.
The project received total funding of 985,000 euros from the State Research Agency for implementation between 2023 and 2026, following resolution of the call for public-private partnership projects under the European Union's recovery, transformation and resilience plan.