University of Liverpool £1.3M to develop new inhaled drug delivery platforms to treat viral and bacterial infections

The University of Liverpool in partnership with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have joined forces on a £1.3million research project to develop new inhaled drug delivery platforms to combat both bacterial and viral pathogens.

Funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the project called TRIAL (Treatment of Respiratory Infections with inhaled AntimicrobiaLs) will focus on developing new ways to deliver broad spectrum antimicrobials via inhalation to the site of an infection in the lung, aiding recovery and reducing the time a patient is in hospital.

The project aims to develop a technology that will revolutionise the treatment of respiratory infections, such as pneumococcal pneumonia and COVID-19 where secondary infections, often associated with multidrug-resistant bacteria, have been observed.

TRIAL is led overall by Professor Raechelle D’Sa and Dr Jenny Hanson, from the University of Liverpool’s School of Engineering, who will develop inhaled drug delivery platforms for the novel antimicrobial and antiviral therapeutics.

Professor Daniela Ferreira and Dr Elena Mitsi will co-lead the project from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

The team will work together to investigate the efficacy of novel therapeutics against bacterial and viral pathogens, including SARS-CoV‑2. They will partner with Aerogen, a leading company specialising in aerosolisation of medication delivery. Read more