CU licenses antibiotic-supporting technology

New Haven, Conn.-based BioRelix Inc. has signed an exclusive license agreement with the University of Colorado Technology Transfer Office for technology developed at the university.

The riboswitch technology, developed by Robert Batey, an associate professor in CU's chemistry and biochemistry department, is expected to help BioRelix develop antibiotics to counter drug-resistant pathogens.

"About 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat infections," according to a CU press release.

Riboswitches control genes needed for many disease-causing, drug-resistant bacteria to survive, so the riboswitch technology could prevent treatable diseases from becoming untreatable.

BioRelix, which formed in 2005, previously licensed riboswitch technology jointly owned by CU and Yale University as well as another technology licensed through CU.