The Swedish Research Council invests SEK 25 million in ENABLE-2

The new issue of Swedish magazine Kemisk Tidskrift turns the spotlight on the rising threat posed by bacteria and the researchers leading the search for new weapons to fight antimicrobial resistance. In the five page centerpiece, Professors Anders Karlén and Diarmaid Hughes talk about the ongoing work at antibiotic platform ENABLE-2.

Antibiotic platform ENABLE-2 welcomes two new programmes: the "Ornicidine" programme, a scientific collaboration between Leiden University in the Netherlands and Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland; and the "BamA Inhibitors" programme, based at the German Justus Liebig University Giessen and Fraunhofer IME.

ENABLE-2 expands its project portfolio with Strathclyde Minor Groove Binders, a program based in Glasgow and the University of Strathclyde. With this collaboration, the platform takes the step into Europe in its search for new promising antibiotics.

“We welcome the great international interest shown in our platform", states Anders Karlén, coordinator of ENABLE-2 that in a recent call for proposals received applications from six European countries.

Läkemedelsvärlden, 2022-12-20

Anders Karlén, Professor of Computational Medicinal Chemistry and coordinator of ENABLE 2, and Årets läkemedelsprofil (Pharmaceutical Drug Profile of the Year) Enrico Baraldi discuss Antibiotic resistance - the silent pandemic in a new episode of Lif:s Podden. Antibiotic expert Bengt Mattson and Pod host Amy Havenäng, both Lif, also participate in the conversation (note: pod in Swedish)

ENABLE-2 receives continued funding from the Swedish Research Council, now allocating SEK 25 million to the platform's second year of operations. "We are about to open a second call in order to complement our portfolio with additional projects," says Anders Karlén, Coordinator of ENABLE-2 and Professor at Uppsala University.

In The Fight against Antibiotic Resistance, the new episode of Forskarpodden, Anders Karlén, Professor and Coordinator of ENABLE-2, and Dan I Andersson, Professor of Medical Bacteriology, discuss the current efforts at Uppsala University to fight the challenges of accelerating antibiotic resistance. (Note: Pod in Swedish)

Vinnova.2022-11-16

ENABLE-2 and The Faculty of Pharmacy congratulates Luke Odell on his promotion to Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at Uppsala University. “Research is a joint effort, so this is a recognition that our entire team can take pride in,” states Luke Odell, leader of ENABLE-2 project QuinGiT.

“As long as disaster does not strike with full force, many prefer to look elsewhere,” says Anders Karlén, Professor of Computer-Aided Drug Design, who after coordinating the European flagship ENABLE now continues the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria within the framework of the international platform ENABLE -2.

Dagens Medicin, 2022-05-23

LäkemedelsVärlden, 2022-03-29

“Sweden has a very distinctive voice in antibiotic matters that both the EU and the world listen to, and we must use it," states Malin Grape, Swedish ambassador against antimicrobial resistance and alumnus at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

Umeåbaserade QureTech Bio AB får stöd av Vetenskapsrådets storsatsning ENABLE-2, som i samarbete med Vinnova även ger små och medelstora företag tillgång till ENABLE-2-plattformen för att fortsätta jakten på nya antibiotika. Plattformen tillhandhåller resurser i form av experimentellt arbete och erfarenhet inom antibiotikautvecklingens tidiga stadier.

The Swedish Research Council's investment in ENABLE-2 has, with support from Vinnova, launched with four projects that are considered very promising in the pursuit for new antibiotics. In the first round of admissions, two projects from Uppsala University, and one each from Linköping University and the biotech company QureTech Bio AB were selected for development.

ENABLE, the EU initiative for antibiotic development led by Uppsala University, will continue its work in ENABLE-2 with financial support from the Swedish Research Council. "An independent committee have chosen between many interesting project proposals and the platform is now entering operational phase," says Anders Karlén, Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy.

SciLifeLab, 2021-10-18

LäkemedelsVärlden, 2021-10-07

ENABLE, the EU initiative for antibiotic development led by Uppsala University, has received SEK 25 million from the Swedish Research Council to start up ENABLE-2. "We are already accepting project proposals and hope that this investment will inspire more financiers," says coordinator Anders Karlén.

LäkemedelsVärlden, 2021-03-10