Frontier IP Group PLC(LON:FIPP) has taken a 10% stake in Amprologix, a spin-off from the University of Plymouth.
Amprologix has developed a cream containing epidermicin, which research has shown can kill harmful bacteria such as the hospital superbug MRSA, even if they are resistant to traditional antibiotics.
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A single dose of epidermicin has been shown to be as effective of six doses of the current standard of care.
The technology was developed by professor Mathew Upton, working alongside UMI3 Ltd at the University of Manchester, which has taken a 13% stake.
“We are delighted to work with Amprologix to commercialise these potentially life-saving antibiotics, and with a leading industrial partner in the area,” said Frontier chief executive Neil Crabb.
“It is further sign our business model is gaining traction with universities and industry alike.”
Harmful infections such as MRSA and Streptococcus are becoming increasingly drug-resistant, with no new classes of antibiotics having been introduced into clinical use since the 1980s.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization declared that antibiotic resistance is “one of the biggest threats to global health”.
The government estimates that 5,000 people die every year in the UK because antibiotics no longer work for some infections.