IN-ARMOR - Therapeutic Epigenetic Enhancement of Innate Immunity to Effectively Combat Antimicrobial Resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a global problem. Microbial resistance and multidrug resistance, where pathogens evolve to resist antibiotic treatments, are among the top 10 global health threats of our time, according to the WHO. This was estimated to have caused 4.95 million deaths in 2019. The next global pandemic could be caused by bacteria resistant to many or even all available drugs. This could take us back to a pre-antibiotic era when common infections could be lethal. None of the 43 antibiotics currently in clinical use are effective against the world's 13 most dangerous infections.

The aim of this project is to introduce new types of immune system-inducing substances that can enhance the body's innate microbial defense mechanisms to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and reduce the prevalence of the most dangerous drug-resistant infections. The target objective is to introduce a novel class of immune system inducers (compounds) able to enhance the body’s own innate microbial defense mechanisms to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and reduce the incidence of the 13 listed most dangerous infections (including 2 of the top 3 priority-1 infections).

If successful, IN-ARMOR could save 127,000 lives annually and reduce healthcare costs by 150 million euros if applied to just 10 percent of AMR cases.

At TAU MET:

Minna Hankaniemi, PhD
Docent in virology and vaccine immunology
Tel +358-50-417-6882
minna.hankaniemi [at] tuni.fi (minna[dot]hankaniemi[at]tuni[dot]fi)
Tampere University
Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology
Arvo Ylpön katu 34 (ARVO, D343)
33520 Tampere, Finland