Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica agrees Artilysin licensing deal with Lysando

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has licensed a new technology platform from Lysando that will aid the creation of new methods of combating pathogenic and multi-resistant bacteria.

Lysando's Artilysins are proteins that, through a physical mechanism, are able to selectively eliminate pathogenic multi-resistant and persisting bacteria. This innovation has applications in both human and animal medicine.

Offering quick action, reliable friend-or-foe identification, completely biodegradability and no known resistances occurring during extensive studies, Artilysins could be a valuable tool in the ongoing effort to limit the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

This is an important step, as the European Commission currently estimates the annual number of deaths caused by multi-resistant bacteria at 25,000.

Markus Matuschka von Greiffenclau, chief executive officer of Lysando, said: "The acquisition of licensing rights for the Artilysin technology by Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is a decisive step in the acceptance of this new class of substances."

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is the animal health division of Boehringer Ingelheim and was founded in the 1950s, before establishing its UK presence in 1980, eventually becoming the nation's fourth largest veterinary pharmaceutical company.