Ben Franklin client Chaperone Technologies, a biotechnology company developing an entirely new class of antimicrobials, has received the formal issuance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for one of its patent applications. This represents a major step in the global fight against drug-resistant bacteria.

The patent claims are directed in part to Chaperone’s method of significantly amplifying the effectiveness of other antimicrobials by combining their use with that of a bacterial hsp70 protein inhibitor. It is the first patent covering the use of hsp70 protein inhibitors in combination with current antimicrobials.

“We would not be where we are today—literally and figuratively—without BFTP.” —Kenneth Kovan, president and CEO, Chaperone Technologies

Bacterial resistance toward many conventional antibiotics has increased from zero in the early 1950s to almost 100% by now, says Chaperone Technologies. Their new compounds are designed to attack such resistant bacteria.

“Bacterial resistance to current antimicrobials is becoming a severe problem worldwide, and many popular antimicrobial drugs may not be effective treatment options in the near future. With few if any truly innovative drugs in development to improve therapeutic choices, combination therapy may currently be the only option to treat these resistant strains” says Kenneth Kovan, president and CEO of Chaperone Technologies.

Chaperone is developing hsp70 protein inhibitors as novel antimicrobials and pursuing their combination use as treatments for hospital- acquired infections such as those from surgical wounds, respiratory and urinary tract infections. The company, which received substantial BFTP seed funding in 2004 through 2006, has a program with the Department of Defense to develop therapeutics for use against selected biowarfare pathogens.

Chaperone also has several other patents pending, including one for a new class of small molecule hsp70 inhibitors. “We would not be where we are today—literally and figuratively—without BFTP,” says Kovan. “They have they helped steer us to regional resources such as University of Scranton/IMBM, Lackawanna College and East Stroudsburg University, and certainly fulfilled the role of identifying a promising technology and providing the support to make it happen.”