Appili Theraputics, an anti-infective drug development company, received a US$1.2 million (C$1.5 million) grant from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program.

The Halifax company said in a press release it will use the funds to develop a compound for its ATI-1503 antibiotic program. ATI-1503 will be able to treat drug-resistant bacteria called Gram-negative bacteria, which have two protective cellular walls making it resistant to existing antibiotics.  

ATI-1503 is a synthetic version of a natural antibiotic and has the ability to treat deadly diseases like Klebsiella pneumonia, caused by drug resistant bacteria.

ATI-1503 has a broad spectrum, which allows the compound to penetrate both cellular walls and break down the bacteria. Appili will focus on increasing the drugs potency to better break down the double cell wall layer.

Treating drug-resistant bacteria is a high priority for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization since they cause at least 2 million infections and over 23,000 deaths in the US each year, alone.

The compound is also ideal for the Department of Defense because of its potential to aid doctors on the war front and in veteran hospitals.

“Drug-resistant bacteria threaten a doctor’s ability to care for battlefield wounds among military service men and women,” said Kevin Sullivan, CEO of Appili Therapeutics. “We are honoured to have been selected for this PRMRP award which helps us advance our most promising antibiotic candidate through the critical early stages of development.”

In the past few weeks, Appili was also given the go-ahead in Canada and the U.S. to start clinical trials of another compound, ATI-1501. This compound is designed to mask the bitter taste in Metronidazole, a drug used to treat infections among children.