Exploitation of a novel fungicide for preventing fungal contamination and deterioration of products and materials

真菌对英国和全球造成了重大的社会和经济负担，这是由于它们的致病机理和它们对有价值的产品和材料的生物降解。为了解决后一个问题，预计到2020年，全球生物杀灭剂市场将达到106亿美元。然而，加强监管和对现有杀菌剂的耐药性正在推动对新技术的需求。一种新的、受专利保护的杀真菌剂技术来自英国生物安全研究委员会资助的诺丁汉大学的工作，该技术利用了针对真菌蛋白质合成的成对试剂之间的协同作用。这种协同作用正在吸引该行业，因为它降低了化学剂量和耐药性风险。我们最近与几家生物杀灭剂公司的对话突出了该行业需要我们解决的关键挑战（例如，聚合物内的功效，满足生物杀灭剂法规），因此他们可以追求他们对该技术的兴趣。该提案的目的是实现这一目标，以确保与工业合作伙伴达成许可协议。

Fungi place major societal and economic burdens on the UK and globally, due to their pathogenesis and their biodeterioration of valuable products and materials. Countering the latter problem, the global biocide market is projected to reach $10.6 billion by 2020. However, tightening regulation and resistance to existing fungicides is driving a need for new technologies. A new, patent-protected fungicide technology arising from BBSRC-funded work at the University of Nottingham exploits synergies between pairs of agents that target fungal protein synthesis. This synergy is attracting the industry as it lowers the chemical dosages and risk of resistance. Our recent dialogue with several biocide companies has highlighted key challenges from this sector for us to address (e.g., efficacy within polymers, meeting biocide regulations), so they can pursue their interest in the technology. The aim of this proposal is to achieve that, in order to secure a licensing deal with an industrial partner.