Project: Next Generation Immunosuppressants: Brasilicardin synthesized by Nocardia spp.

NeBrasCa stands for Next generation immunosuppressive drugs: Brasilicardin from kocardia. Brasilicardin is a terpenoid secondary metabolite which is known to have an immunosuppressive activity and is produced by the soil bacterium Nocardia terpenica. The potency of this natural product is higher than today’s standard drugs tacrolimus and cyclosporin, and brasilicardin has the advantage of being less toxic, i.e. shows less side effects. It targets the amino acid transport system L and exhibits therefore a completely different mode of action than the established drugs. Taken together, brasilicardin based compounds represent in future a valueable drug option that can expand and complement todays immunosuppressant therapy. The NeBrasCa project aims at the biotechnological development of a brasilicardin analogs as new immunosuppressant drugs. Currently, the development is halted due to supply issues. The producer strain shows only a low production titer and is furthermore categorized as biosafety level 2 organism. Both facts make the production of the original brasilicardin by classic fermentation expensive and elaborate. In addition, despite considerable efforts, it is neither practical nor reasonable to generate the molecule by total synthesis. NeBrasCa wants to overcome this bottleneck with a biotechnological approach in order to produce an optimized brasilicardin congener, which can be developed to the point of regulatory preclinical trials.

Acronym	NeBrasCa
Website	visit project website
Network	ERA-IB-2
Call	ERA-IB 5th joint call for proposals: Industrial biotechnology for Europe: an integrated approach

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	Eberhard Karls University Tübingen - Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine		Germany
	Eberhard Karls University Tübingen - Pharmaceutical Institute	Coordinator	Germany
	EntreChem SL		Spain
	University of Oviedo		Spain
	University of Warsaw		Poland