Haptogen Ltd

Bacterial Silencers Hit the Targets Other Drug-Technologies Cannot Reach

Haptogen, the Aberdeen-based biotechnology company whose pioneering approach to stopping super-bug infections has attracted clients from the world’s top five pharmaceutical companies, US medical diagnostic companies and the UK military, is one of the finalists in the 6th annual Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise.

The Aberdeen based business is among three finalists in the Young Business Award category for businesses that have been trading for less than three years, and is also a finalist in the Sir Ian Wood Award for Innovation category.

Haptogen’s Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Andy Porter, and his team have developed antibodies which wipe out the signalling molecules of bacteria or ‘haptens’ that allow bacteria to multiply causing infections to become life-threatening.  “By stopping bacteria from “talking” to each other we stop them from co-ordinating an attack that could result in disease”..

“Pre-clinical trials suggest that we can make effective antibodies that not only stop the bacteria becoming more dangerous, but also confuse communication so much that the bacteria commit suicide in their millions,” explained Professor Porter.

As well as preventing serious infections, potential applications for Haptogen’s Haptomics® technology include the treatment of obesity, liver disease, and even the detection of chemical and biological toxins by the Ministry of Defence, one of the company’s research clients.

In less than three years, the business has grown from six to 16 people in its laboratories at Foresterhill and has signed two major development contracts, valued at £13m, with a major US diagnostics company and an Asian pharmaceutical company.

Picture caption: Dr James Duncan and Polly Barrowman, molecular biologists at Aberdeen based Haptogen, which has received two nominations in the Grampian Awards for Business Enterprise with its pioneering approach to stopping super bug infections. 

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