New CSIRO spin-off to develop drugs from bugs

Think twice before you next swat an insect - it could end up saving your life. A collaboration of leading research organisations has formed a private company to screen an insect library for potentially therapeutic molecules.

And first on the agenda will be new antibiotics, with Australian insects helping in the race to beat antibiotic-resistant super bugs.

Entocosm Pty Ltd has been formed through the partnership of CSIRO Entomology, the Canberra Hospital and Australian National University.

CSIRO chief executive Dr Geoff Garrett said Entocosm had been set up to develop a leading global position in the creation of drugs from insects.

"The plant and microbial worlds have long been targets for discovery of therapeutic drugs, but insects have been left virtually untouched," Garrett said.

"With four million species to be looked at, there is great potential for discovery of hugely important therapeutic drugs in the future."

Demonstrating the extent of the opportunity, Garrett said that, by comparison, there were only about 250,000 plant species on Earth. In addition, while many in number, just 1 per cent of microbial targets could be cultured in a laboratory.

Insects came into focus as a major source of potential therapeutics because of their unparalleled array of biologically active substances. These included molecules known to kill cancer cells, proteins preventing blood from clotting, enzymes to degrade pesticides, proteins that glow in the dark, anti-microbial peptides and toxins.

CSIRO scientist of 13 years Dr Stephen Trowell is to be the new company's chief scientific officer, supported by Emeritus Prof Rod Rickards of the ANU and Canberra Hospital's Clinical Assoc Prof Peter Collignon.

Trowell's team has so far identified molecules with anti-cancer and antibiotic potential among some of the 1000 species of Australian insects collected.

"Dr Trowell's team has already uncovered a wealth of novel antibiotic potential from insects and the formation of Entocosm Pty Ltd enables the company to screen CSIRO's unique library of insect extracts and develop the novel drug leads through the drug discovery pipeline," Garrett said.

"CSIRO Entomology has provided many solutions for crop protection, animal health and environmental management and it is exciting to see this new development in the human health area," he said.

The first project will be to address the urgent need for new antibiotics in the face of resistant strains of infection.

The Canberra Hospital is to provide strains of such resistant bugs to the collaboration so that new insect-derived molecules can be tested against them. It is understood the testing of anti-cancer molecules will follow.

New York-based investment bankers Malcolm Binks Associates LLC have been appointed by Entocosm to raise capital from United States and Australian investors.