OVERVIEW
Development of new antibiotics has decreased significantly over the last 30 years and in parallel antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has increased and is now a major threat to global human health. Naturally occurring bacteriocins, which bacteria use to target other closely related bacteria, are exploited by Glox Therapeutics in the development of engineered bacteriocin therapeutics based on Glox’s proprietary platform technologies.
Glox Therapeutics was founded by Professor Daniel Walker, Professor Colin Kleanthous and Dr James Clark in February 2023 to exploit recent advances in understanding bacteriocin structure and mode of action made in the laboratories of Professors Walker and Kleanthous at the University of Glasgow and University of Oxford, respectively.
The company is supported by a highly expert network of scientific advisers and has received investment and support from high profile investors the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Scottish Enterprise
MANAGEMENT TEAM
CEO – James Clark
Dr James Clark is Chief Executive Officer of Glox Therapeutics. He has established a track record in precision medicine in C level roles, including CEO in both start-up and medium sized companies. James brings over 20 years’ experience in leadership roles in precision medicine and drug development in pharma, biotech and start-ups in both the US and Europe. Prior companies include GSK Biologicals, Response Genetics and more recently in the microbiome field as CTO of Enterome and CEO of Enterobiotix. James has a B.Sc. in Microbiology and a PhD in Cancer immunology.
CSO – Professor Daniel Walker
Dan is academic co-founder of Glox and Professor of Microbiology at the University of Strathclyde, having moved from the University of Glasgow in 2022. He has an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of East Anglia and is a leading expert in bacteriocin biology and protein uptake in Gram-negative bacteria. After joining the University of Glasgow as a Lecturer in 2007 his group pioneered the development of protein antibiotics to prevent and treat bacterial infections.
Expert R&D Consultant – Dr Nicholas Housden
Nick previously held the laboratory manager role in the Kleanthous group, where he worked as a senior postdoc for 20 years. He has undergraduate and PhD degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Southampton and has worked as a Post-Doc at the University of Southampton, University of York, and the University of Oxford. His research has focused on the biophysical and structural characterization of protein-protein interactions, and he has an unparalleled knowledge of the study of bacteriocin mechanism of action. Nick has over 25 publications on bacteriocin biology and mechanism of action, including first-author publications in Science, Nature Communications, and PNAS.
Head of Scientific Advisory board – Professor Colin Kleanthous FMedSci
Colin is the Iveagh Professor of Microbial Biochemistry at the University of Oxford. He has undergraduate and PhD degrees in Biochemistry from the University of Leicester and undertook PostDocs at UC Berkeley and the University of Glasgow. He was appointed as a lecturer at the University of East Anglia in 1991 and Professor of Biochemistry at the University of York in 2002. He moved to Oxford in 2012 and has been Microbiology & Systems Biology Theme head since 2018. He is a leading expert in bacteriocin uptake mechanisms, bacterial cell envelope structure-function and outer membrane organisation with over 150 peer-reviewed publications. Colin has organised many scientific meetings, served on both national and international grant funding panels (currently a member of the Technical and Natural Sciences Committee of the Villum Foundation in Denmark), was a member of the Science and Impact Advisory Board of the John Innes Centre in Norwich for 5 years, was chairman of the UK Biochemical Society (2011-2013), was elected to EMBO in 2018 and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2022.
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
Professor Derrick Crook
Consultant Physician in Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Oxford University Hospital, NHS, Foundation Trust and Professor of Microbiology, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. Prof Crook is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology and the Royal College of Physicians and past Director of National Infection Service Public Health England. He is a clinically active practicing general infectious diseases and overseeing routine diagnostic work. His research group centres on translating new molecular technologies and advances in informatics into the investigation of microbial transmission, diagnosis of infectious disease and identifying novel outbreaks of communicable disease. He is a specialist in respiratory and gastrointestinal infections and diagnostics. His past and present research spans a wide spectrum of pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA), Clostridium difficile, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae and Haemophilus influenza.
Dr Michael Steward
Dr Steward is a biopharmaceutical drug discovery scientist with over 25 years track record in leadership positions within molecular biology/protein biochemistry research in the academic, biotech and pharmaceutical sectors. Dr Steward is an independent consultant with a wealth of expertise built from advising >20 companies and academic institutions in the life science sector. Clients include biotech/antibody discovery companies, academic spinouts and companies developing instruments with applications in academic and industrial research settings. Past positions include, Director, Antibody Technology, GlaxoSmithKline Biopharm R&D, Director of Research and Development, Cambridge Epigenetix and Group Manager, Integrated Bioactive Technologies, Callaghan Innovation.
Professor Christoph Tang FMedSci
Professor of Cellular Pathology, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford. Prof Tang is a clinician scientist. He is a member of EMBO and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He is a Section Editor for PLoS Pathogens and is the lead on a Wellcome Trust Collaborative award developing gonococcal vaccines. His group seeks to understand the basis of how pathogens colonise specific niches in the body, evade elimination by the immune system, and cause disease. Their particular focus of study are Neisseria spp., which are leading causes of bacterial meningitis and gonorrhoea, and enteric pathogens, such as Shigella spp.
Professor Gerhard Winter
Prof Winter is Chair of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmacy, in the Department Pharmacy at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. Prof Winter is a pharmaceutical scientist expert in protein and peptide formulation and aseptic manufacture under GMP. He has >30 years’ experience in researching protein drug delivery modalities, including lipid, liposomal and cyclodextrin based formulations and in developing analytical approaches for investigating protein stability within these formulations. He has co-authored 45 patents and consulted for >30 pharmaceutical and biotech companies. In 2008, he co-founded, and is now consultant to, Coriolis Pharma (Martinsried, Germany), which employs ~200 staff.
INVESTORS
Boehringer Ingelheim Investment
The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund GmbH (BIVF) was founded in 2010 and invests in pioneering biotechnology companies with a focus on therapeutics in order to promote innovation in biomedical research. The BIVF seeks significant improvements in patient care through groundbreaking scientific findings and their clinical implementation, building long-term relationships with scientists and entrepreneurs. The focus of the BIVF is on the discovery of novel therapeutic concepts that aim at a high medical need indications in the areas of immuno-oncology, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases and digital health. These concepts can include novel platform technologies in response to previously untreatable diseases. The BIVF has a fund volume of EUR 300 million and refinances itself as an evergreen fund. Its partners benefit from the fund´s extensive experience in the fields of drug discovery, science and management as well as access to experts within the Boehringer Ingelheim organisation. The BIVF currently serves a portfolio of more than 40 companies
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Enterprise (SE) is Scotland’s national economic development agency and a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It supports businesses to innovate and scale to transform the Scottish economy by focusing on new market opportunities through targeted investment, innovation and internationalisation.
