Led by Prof. Marcel Jaspar (Aberdeen University), 24 institutions from 14 countries (8 European) participate in PHARMASEA, a European funded Project focused in the discovery of bioactive molecules as source of new drugs from mircoorganisms sampled in extreme marine ecosystems such as polar waters, fumaroles and deep-sea trenches. The probability of discovering new molecules with innovative structures from these microorganisms is greater since they inhabit extremely hostile conditions and survive them.
MEDINA’s role in the project is to generate a collection of new microbial strains and extracts, and test them for antimicrobial activity versus human pathogens. Additionally, MEDINA will determine the molecules responsible for this and other biological activities measured by other
partners in the consortium, select the best candidates and submit them to pharmacological tests to determine their safe use in humans. PharmaSea team hopes to get several drug candidates into animal testing by the time the project finishes in 2016.
For further information, please go to goo.gl/7vNG0q
