Lucilia Pharma

The Project
Lucilia Pharma is a drug discovery company focused on exploiting the beneficial molecular properties of entities excreted/secreted by maggots of various species of flies (including Lucilia sericata) which are already widely used in medicinal maggot debridement therapy (MDT) to treat chronic wounds, such as diabetic leg ulcers and including those infected with drug-resistant bacteria including MRSA.
Maggots are routinely used clinically for wound treatment particularly where wounds are struggling to heal. Their antimicrobial properties are well recognised although the active compounds that facilitate healing are unknown. Maggots have been around for over 60 million years and bacteria have not yet evolved a defence mechanism so the isolation, identification and synthesis of an active compound offers the promise of a drug spared from the antibacterial resistance so common today.