We develop new antibiotics with novel modes of action while focusing on ways to reduce the development of bacterial resistance. Our drug-design expertise and unique computational tools guide us to the areas of chemical space that yield antibacterial activity.
Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetases
aaRS enzymes are a largely untapped source of novel antibiotics. We have identified three classes of inhibitors of aaRS enzymes which have antibiotic activity against critical Gram-negative pathogens (such as E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) whilst maintaining activity against strains resistant to standard antibiotics.
Histidine Kinases
HKs form part of the sensory and signalling network in bacteria and control factors such as virulence and motility. As part of the CARTNET consortium, we are developing novel classes of compounds to inhibit multiple bacterial histidine kinases with the aim of reducing the development of resistance.
About Us
Oxford Drug Design is an innovative biotechnology company spun out from Professor Graham Richards’ group at the University of Oxford in 2001.
The company has developed rapid, state-of-the-art virtual screening and ligand analogue searching technologies. Building on this platform, the company is now applying machine learning techniques such as neural networks and topological data analysis to help further the drug discovery process.
Utilising this technology, the company has developed a number of novel antibiotics programmes.
News
Oxford Drug Design wins UK-China AMR grant and boosts funding with investment from the Angel CoFund
Oxford University biotech spin-out receives over £2 million to take its drug discovery programme to the next level. Oxford Drug Design Limited (ODD), a biotechnology company with a proprietary computational and machine learning platform, has raised a combined £2.2M in funding from the Angel CoFund (ACF), o2h Ventures and other new investors, and grant funding […]
November 5, 2019Oxford Drug Design presents at CDD 2019 Autumn Seminar Series
Oxford Drug Design recently attended an event at the Said Buisness School, in Oxford showcasing the latest developments of Collaborative Drug Discovery’s compound informatics system and ELN. Dr Michael Charlton spoke about our antibacterial projects and how Oxford Drug Design are integrating the collaborative features of CDD into our workflow.
October 14, 2019Oxford Drug Design receives over £8m in grant and equity investment
Oxford Drug Design announced today success in securing funds, totalling over £8m, from the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), the UK Department of Health and Social Care Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) and equity investment led by o2h Ventures. These funds will be used to advance our dual-target aminoacy-tRNA synthetase inhibitor (DaaRSi) project, which is […]
June 18, 2019