Destiny Pharma. Share News (DEST)

(Sharecast News) - Clinical-stage biotechnology company Destiny Pharma has been jointly awarded a National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC) grant to fund a research collaboration with Cardiff University, it announced on Tuesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the project would establish the potential of three of its proprietary XF drug compounds - DPD‑207, XF-70 and XF-73 - as novel treatments for clinically important fungal infections in mucosal mouth models of disease.

Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

"We are very pleased to collaborate with the expert team at Cardiff University supported by NBIC," said chief executive officer Neil Clark.

"Our XF drugs have already shown activity against bacteria packed in biofilm communities that represent a significant barrier to antimicrobial treatments.

"This new collaboration may help us identify additional clinical candidates from our XF platform for oral indications related to biofilms in a billion-dollar market."

Clark said it was also the company's first research project targeting fungal infections, and joined its other four existing research collaborations funded by about £2m of grant awards.

"The project will explore further the potential of our lead drug, XF-73 that is currently in a phase 2b study, evaluating its potential for the prevention of post-surgical infections."

At 1541 BST, shares in Destiny Pharma were down 2.56% at 38p.