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Getting under your skin: how a fungus takes hold

Written by Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

We are not alone in this world. Although we can’t see them, we share our surroundings with billions of tiny microscopic organisms (microbes). Like us, they’re looking for a cosy place to live, survive and thrive. And the place that many of them like to call home is actually us – the human body! While many of these microbes help us, there are some that we could just live without.

Not such a fun guy to have around is a type of microbe called a dermatophyte (from Greek δέρμα derma (skin) and φυτόν phyton “plant”). Dermatophytes are filamentous fungi in the genera of Trichophyton, Microsporum and Epidermophyton, which can invade our skin, hair and nail to cause irritating, highly-infectious rashes (e.g. ringworm and Athlete’s foot), hair loss (e.g. ringworm of the scalp) and flaky, discoloured nails (e.g. fungal nail disease).1

Dermatophytes achieve this because they live off keratin – the tough, fibrous protein important for the structure of skin, hair and nails.1  Within our skin, keratin-making cells are present in the upper layers (the epidermis) and travel upwards over time, becoming rough, dry and flaky, and producing a “dead” layer of cells (called the stratum corneum), which acts as a constantly renewing barrier to the outside world.2  Fortunately, under normal, healthy conditions, this top skin layer is dry and not easily invaded by dermatophytes.

However, the scales can easily be tipped in the favour of fungal growth. Dermatophytes particularly love warm, moist environments, which are often created in our active lifestyles.1 Getting sweaty and […]

2021-05-18T14:11:25+00:00March 18th, 2020|Blog Articles, Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics receives clearance from the FDA to proceed with the clinical investigation of BB2603

Blueberry Therapeutics has received an investigational new drug (IND) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to proceed with the clinical development of BB2603 for the treatment of onychomycosis.

The IND is a crucial milestone in the continued development of BB2603, a nanoformulated, topical form of terbinafine for the treatment of onychomycosis (fungal toenail). With the IND in place the company has initiated a Phase IIb international, multicentre double-blinded study.

The primary outcome of this study is to look at the efficacy BB2603 in onychomycosis, with a secondary dose finding outcome also being investigated.

John Ridden, CEO said: “Having received clearance from the FDA we are looking forward to the opportunity to work with over 20 international sites on the Phase IIb trial of BB2603 with the first patient expected to be recruited in March 2020.This is a key milestone in our path to commercialisation of our nanotechnology product portfolio.”

With BB2603, Blueberry Therapeutics aim to maintain the efficacy of the oral gold standard treatment, but at a lower dose. Delivering the active pharmaceutical ingredient using nanotechnology ensures it penetrates across the nail plate and reaches the target site of action in a controlled manner, meaning lower doses can be used and systemic side effects are minimised.

2020-01-28T09:58:10+00:00January 28th, 2020|Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics Appoints Dr. Adrian Howd to Board of Directors

Drug discovery and development company Blueberry Therapeutics announced the appointment of Dr. Adrian Howd to its Board as an independent Non-Executive Director, strengthening its strategic, financial and therapeutic expertise.  

Dr. Howd has over 20 years’ experience in the life science sector. He has held various private and public company Executive and Board roles in the UK, EU and US, including Immunocore, Poseida Therapeutics, Viamet and Malin. As CEO of Malin, he led equity capital raises totalling EUR 430m and implemented the operational and strategic refinement and priority asset focus for the company.  

Prior to this, Dr. Howd also held numerous investment and finance roles within global financial institutions. He received his PhD in Neuroscience from St. Thomas’s Hospital, University of London and undertook a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda Maryland. 

Andrew Kay, Chairman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Adrian to our Board and I am certain he will provide Blueberry Therapeutics with solid counsel. He has a proven track record of working with fast growing companies, including those with dermatology and anti-infective focus” 

“Adrian’s experience of senior Executive and Board roles and numerous investment and financing roles will help to drive the company forward and achieve our continued success.” 

2020-01-15T13:12:58+00:00January 15th, 2020|Latest News|
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Starting off on the right foot

Written by Dr Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

Now a new year is here we start to take a closer look at ourselves. Our body shape, weight and diet are key areas we frequently try to improve. But what about our foot health? We often neglect to look as far as our feet, which can hold some secrets and sometimes sinister surprises.

Healthy feet are pivotal to good mobility and influence our physical, as well as mental, well-being. The benefits of walking are numerous and span from reduced physical fatigue and better posture to improved creativity and problem-solving.1-3  With healthy feet we can improve fitness, feel independent and get around our local communities, meeting old friends and making new ones.

While healthy feet can facilitate our lifestyles, having unhealthy feet can hinder us. Unfortunately, foot problems are very common – in a study, called the Achilles Project, over 70,000 GP/dermatologist patients (irrespective of their initial diagnosis) were examined, and it was found that 57 % of patients had at least one foot disease.4 Despite the importance of healthy feet and the high prevalence of foot diseases, we don’t always care for our feet as we do other parts of our body, which can allow problems to go unnoticed.

Often the first sign that something is wrong with our feet is when we experience pain or discomfort. For instance, Athlete’s foot (tinea pedis) affects 1 in 6 of us and often starts with an irritating itchy rash, but can progress to painful cracking and blistering of the skin.5-6 Other common foot problems, including ingrown […]

2021-05-25T09:01:27+00:00January 10th, 2020|Blog Articles|
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Stamping out Athlete’s foot

Written by Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

Running into trouble: Athlete’s foot is a common problem 

Athlete’s foot needs no introduction. A whopping 1 in 6 of us are estimated to have this fungal infection of the foot (also known as tinea pedis).1,2 It usually starts with an irritating itchy rash between the toes, but can progress to painful cracking and blistering of the skin on the toes and soles of the feet.3 Tinea pedis was first reported in Europe in 1908, before which it was considered a rare phenomenon.4 Since then numbers have sprinted forward, likely as a result of occluded (closed) footwear, greater movement of people from place to place and more communal sports and health clubs.4   

Athlete’s foot occurs because a type of fungus called dermatophytes love to grow in damp, moist places like the areas between our toes.1 They thrive there in the upper layers of the skin, feeding off the skin protein keratin, resulting in a weakened skin barrier and leading to the subsequent symptoms of Athlete’s foot.1 When it affects between our toes its known as ‘interdigital’, whilst ‘plantar’ refers to infection found on the sole of the foot. It’s not usually serious but can also spread to other parts of the body, such as the nail (onychomycosis) and […]

2021-05-25T09:05:15+00:00December 2nd, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Ringworm you can catch by playing sports: Tinea cruris and tinea corporis

Sports are a big part of our lives. The benefits of keeping active and healthy, both physically and mentally, have never been more recognised. However, sports also come with risks, such as sprains, strains and in some cases broken bones. But there is also a lesser known menace associated with sport – ringworm. 

Ringworm is a superficial fungal infection of the skin. It can occur anywhere on the body from head to toe: on the scalp (tinea capitis), body (tinea corporis), inner thighs, groin and buttocks (tinea cruris), or feet (tinea pedis). It manifests as a red, itchy, ring-shaped rash and flaking or peeling skin. Anyone can get ringworm and, although it is not considered a serious infection, it is estimated that 10-20% of us will contract it during our lifetime1 (with an estimated market worth for tinea cruris and tinea corporis therapies of over ~ $1 bn/year).2 It has also been noted that in certain sports there is a greater risk of both tinea cruris and tinea corporis. 

Tinea cruris, also known as jock itch, is particularly prevalent in men and adolescent boys who play sport.3 The fungi that cause tinea cruris thrive in warm, moist environments, such as the inner thigh, groin and buttocks.3 As such, people who play sports who sweat a lot, or reside in hot, humid climates, are more at risk.4 Tinea cruris is highly […]

2020-03-18T11:56:01+00:00November 5th, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Ringworm of the scalp: tinea capitis

Written by Dr Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

Despite its name, ringworm is not caused by worms, it’s caused by fungi called dermatophytes that can infect the skin and cause a ring-shaped rash. This rash can occur anywhere on the body but when it occurs on the scalp it’s called scalp ringworm, or tinea capitis.

Tinea capitis is a highly contagious fungal infection of the scalp hair and skin. It is more common in children than adults and if fact it is so prevalent among children that it is the most common paediatric dermatophyte infection worldwide.1 Exact numbers are likely underestimated,2 however, globally there are thought to be over 200 million cases3 with the annual market for the treatment of tinea capitis estimated at $0.2-0.5 bn.

Tinea capitis is a frequent problem in most countries, but there is also geographic variation and a high proportion of cases are found in resource-poor areas. For instance, there are estimated to be 78 million cases in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.4 In addition to age-related and geographical differences, different ethnic communities also show variations in tinea capitis incidence. This has been demonstrated by a US study of school children in which infection rates were highest in African-American children (12.9%) and lower in Hispanic (1.6%) Caucasian children (1.1 %).5

Tinea capitis

 

The key characteristic of tinea capitis is a red, itchy rash and patchy hair loss. This occurs when dermatophyte fungi that normally live in dead layers of the skin invade the living outermost layer of the skin – the […]

2020-03-18T11:56:11+00:00September 30th, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Fungal infection treatments – What you need to know

The significance of fungal infection is often neglected in society. However, fungal infections affect more than a billion people, resulting in approximately 11.5 million life-threatening infections and more than 1.5 million deaths annually.1  

The antifungals, used to treat fungal infections, are a diverse group of drugs that include inhibitors of membrane and cell wall synthesis, as well as compounds that cause alterations of fungal membranes, effects on microtubules, and inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis. These drugs can be given topically or systemically depending on the disease.2 

There are three main classes of systemic antifungals; polyenes (amphotericin B), imidazoles, and triazoles, and allylamines. Topical antifungals include imidazoles, tolnaftate, terbinafine and the polyenes nystatin and amphotericin.2 

The clinical outcomes for most invasive fungal infections are far from ideal and even non-invasive infections can take months, if not years, to treat. One of the main challenges to current treatment options is the emergence of antifungal drug resistance. Examples of this include azole resistance among non-Candida albicans isolates, azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus, and echinocandin resistance in C. glabrata.  

Some fungal species demonstrate resistance to all clinically available antifungals.3 Patients who have infections caused by such species have very few remaining treatment options. 

The treatment of non-invasive fungal infections is limited by poor penetration of topical antifungals. This limitation is particularly

2020-03-18T11:56:50+00:00August 15th, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Fungal Infection – Not Just Toenails

Onychomycosis (fungal nail infection) and tinea pedis (athlete’s foot), are some of the most common forms of fungal infection in adults and are often the first things that spring to mind when thinking of fungal infection. However, many other forms of fungal infection exist, which affect all different parts of the body and can have serious health implications. 

Fungal infections are typically split into two types, Invasive Fungal Infections (IFIs) and Non-Invasive Fungal Infections, though it could be argued that all fungal infections are invasive due to their location within the body. IFIs, though rare, are typically systemic, severe and life-threatening,1, 2 while the more common non-invasive fungal infections are localised and generally benign.  

Non-Invasive Fungal Infections  

The most frequently occurring fungal diseases are the “non-invasive” infections such as fungal nail infection (tinea unguium), athlete’s foot (tinea pedis), ringworm (tinea corporis) and Candida infections of the vagina, mouth, throat, and oesophagus (Thrush).  

The “tinea family” of infections are often caused by dermatophytes such as Trichophyton species, Epidermophyton species or Microsporum species and are named by site of infection.  Tinea corporis (skin) and tinea capitis (hair) are more common in children. Adolescents and adults more often develop tinea cruris (groin), tinea pedis (athletes’ foot), and tinea unguium (nail). Fungal infection of the skin, hair or nails affects approximately 1 billion people worldwide 3 and, in the US alone accounted for 4 million outpatient medical visits.4

2020-03-18T11:56:21+00:00July 4th, 2019|Blog Articles|
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The rise of resistant Candida auris – A global issue

Fungal ‘superbug’ drug-resistant Candida auris has been identified by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a ‘serious threat to global health’ following a startling increase in the number of infection cases that do not respond to treatment over recent years.  

Candida is most notably associated with thrush, which although not life-threatening, affects at least 135 million individuals world-wide1. The infection can however be lethal to people with immature or compromised immune systems, including new-borns and the elderly, smokers, diabetics and people with autoimmune disorders. This invasive C.auris infection can infect the bloodstream, where it manifests as sepsis, the central nervous system and internal organs.  

For decades now, public health experts have warned of the overuse of antibiotics, but lately there has been an increase in the number fungal ‘superbugs’ that are resistant to antifungal treatments. It is understood that these C.auris strains are almost universally resistant to fluconazole, with 30% resistant to two or more of the four main classes of existing antifungals.2 There is concern that doctors may even be promoting development of resistance when prescribing antifungals as a preventative measure for patients who have received an organ transplant or are undergoing chemotherapy.   

The first case of C.auris infection was noted in Japan in 2009 and since this time, at least 1100 incidences have been confirmed across more than twenty countries including the […]

2020-03-18T11:57:18+00:00June 3rd, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Fungal Disease – A Global Opportunity for Improved Health in Developing Countries

As the World Health Organization focuses on what universal health coverage means in 2019, we explore the global challenges and opportunities in the control of fungal infection.

Although we often think of fungal infection in a cosmetic context, only affecting aging populations and often in relation to fungal nail infection, fungal disease is a serious global public health concern.

Far from being merely cosmetic issue, fungal infection can be extremely serious and, particularly for those with compromised immune systems, life threatening. People living with HIV; cancer patients; people who are admitted to hospital; people who are critically ill after trauma or surgery; and premature babies are among those most at risk.
Fungal infections can affect anyone around the world but pose a serious threat to people with weakened immune systems, such as those who have cancer or HIV/AIDS, or who have suffered from poor diet, malnutrition or repeated illness. It is these at-risk people who often reside in economically-challenged settings, where diagnosis and treatment can be tough and fraught with complications is a global issue. Over 300 million people of all ages are estimated to suffer from a serious fungal infection. Every year over 1.66 million of these people are estimated to die.1  When compared to deaths from headline grabbing diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, that are fatal to 0.6 million and 1.5 million respectively, it’s hard to understand why there isn’t more of a discussion surrounding fungal infection and its disproportionate burden on developing nations.1

But some fungal diseases can be extremely serious and, particularly for those with compromised immune systems, even life […]

2020-03-18T11:58:36+00:00May 10th, 2019|Blog Articles|
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Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd gains final approval for its first clinical trial.

Blueberry has now gained regulatory and ethical approval to run its first clinical trial using its novel nanoparticle delivered spray formulation to rapidly treat onychomycosis (OM) and associated tinea pedis (TP). We plan to start the trial early March.

Dr John Ridden the CEO of Blueberry commented ‘This is an exciting time for Blueberry – the combination of an experienced enthusiastic team, a supportive group of investors and state of the art facilities have allowed us to create what we hope will be an exciting new medicine to treat fungal infection of skin and nails. If this trial is successful Blueberry plans to run a Phase III Clinical trial in the US in onychomycosis.

 Dr Mike Davies, Chief Medical Officer and Co-founder of Blueberry Therapeutics says “This is exciting news and is a major milestone for Blueberry after the tremendous work done by the Blueberry team. We eagerly await the preliminary results in Summer that will feed into our IND in the US. Thank you to everybody who has been involved in the development of this unique product”.

2017-03-10T10:31:26+00:00February 28th, 2017|Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics hosts a seminar on nail diseases

Blueberry Therapeutics was pleased to host Dr. Sudax Murdan from University College London. Sudax is a world expert in disease of the nail and topical drug delivery. Sudax spent the day with the Blueberry team including her excellent seminar on “Designing topical medicines for nail diseases”.

2017-02-16T10:37:58+00:00January 13th, 2017|Latest News|
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Blueberry CSO presents at Superbugs & Superdrugs conference

CSO David Cook presents at the “Superbugs & Supderdrugs” conference held in Iselin, USA. The conference brought together experts in anti-microbial drug resistance from Government, Pharma and Biotech. David gave a presentation on “Targeting Mechanisms of Resistance Using Protein Resistance Neutralizers”.

2017-02-16T10:30:04+00:00November 14th, 2016|Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics raises £3M to progress the development of its lead topical antifungal

Blueberry Therapeutics today announced that it has raised £3 million to progress the development of its topical fungal infection therapies into human clinical trials. The investment was led by the GM&C Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures, and included participation from San Francisco-based InClin Investments, as well as a number of private investors.

The investment will support progress of its innovative treatment for onychomycosis (fungal nail infection) and associated tinea pedis (athlete’s foot), into clinical development. In this large existing market valued at more than $3bn annually, patients have wanted a topical treatment for onychomycosis that has the effectiveness of existing oral treatment but without the toxicity concerns.

2021-05-10T10:12:38+00:00May 5th, 2016|Latest News|
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HRH Duke of York visits Blueberry’s laboratories

Blueberry was delighted to host HRH the Duke of York on Tuesday the 2nd of February when he visited our laboratories during a visit to Alderley Park as part of the “Pitch@Palace 5.0 tour (http://pitchatpalacenews.com)”. The Duke met with Julie Cook and Sarah Main from Blueberry’s laboratory staff as well as CSO David Cook. The Duke heard about Blueberry’s goals to develop new anti-infective treatments and saw first hand some of our nanoparticle formulation and characterisation work.

Duke of York at Blueberry Therapeutics

Duke of York at Blueberry Therapeutics

2018-02-13T12:31:35+00:00February 2nd, 2016|Latest News|
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DAVOS 2016: Final Declaration by the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Diagnostics Industries on Combating Antimicrobial Resistance published

Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd are amongst 80 co-signatories on a declaration at the World Economic Forum in Davos committing to working together to solve the growing issue of antimicrobial drug resistance and calling for governments to improve financial incentives and investment to support this effort.

The detail of the text can be found here: 

http://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/Declaration_of_Support_for_Combating_AMR_Jan_2016.pdf

 

2016-05-13T10:40:17+00:00January 22nd, 2016|Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd joins the BEAM Alliance

 

Blueberry Therapeutics Ltd is delighted to have joined the BEAM Alliance (Biopharmaceutical companies from Europe in Anti-Microbial resistance). The BEAM Alliance aims to raise awareness on the very specific issues that small and medium European biopharmaceutical companies are facing when developing and bringing to market innovative products to address antimicrobial resistance.

More information about the BEAM Alliance can be found here: http://beam-alliance.eu

 

2016-01-22T14:44:47+00:00December 1st, 2015|Latest News|
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Blueberry Therapeutics and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine receive a Confidence in Concept award from the MRC

Blueberry Therapeutics and LSTM are awarded an MRC Confidence in Concept grant to explore nano-formulations of Ceftriaxone for the treatment of Typhoid fever.

Dave Cook, Chief Scientific Officer at Blueberry said “We’re delighted to be working with the team at LSTM on this exciting project. Typhoid fever is a major human health issue and so exploring the potential application of our nano-formulations to improve antibiotic therapy is an important first step in improving treatment of the disease.”

The MRC Confidence in Concept (CiC) scheme provides funding to institutions to support the earliest stages of translational research projects. More details can be found using the link below

http://www.lstmed.ac.uk/research/institutional-funding/mrc-confidence-in-concept-fund-2015/mrc-cic-successful-applicants

2018-02-13T12:31:35+00:00August 25th, 2015|Latest News|
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