Anthony Coates is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Helperby Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing the next generation of lifesaving antibiotics.
Anthony created the company in 2002 and together with colleague Yanmin Hu invented Antibiotic Resistance Breakers (ARBs), a new form of ‘antibiotic renewable’ technology.
With existing antibiotic treatments rapidly becoming obsolete, Helperby’s unique antibiotic technology outsmarts highly resistant bacteria by combining ARBs with old antibiotics such as colistin, to create a new and sustainable commercially viable generation of therapies.
Helperby’s latest potential therapy, azidothymidine and low-dose colistin, is one of only a handful of drug candidates that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified as in development to tackle the three WHO Critical Priority pathogens; carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter (CRAB), and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (CRPA).
The Company has several therapies in clinical trials targeting unmet needs in areas of significant market value – including candidates for skin infections, urinary tract infection and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and a market-ready oral consumer antibacterial.
In addition to his roles at Helperby, Anthony is Professor of Medical Microbiology at St. George’s University of London. He leads several research teams, is author of over 150 publications and has edited 13 books.
Anthony has received numerous national and international grants from the European Commission, British Medical Research Council (MRC), charities and industry, and is a named inventor on 200 patent applications of which 127 have been granted. He is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of GARDP.
Anthony qualified as a medical practitioner at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, University of London. He worked as a Medical Research Council training fellow with Professor Denis Mitchison who developed randomised clinical trials, antibiotic combination therapies and short-course chemotherapy in tuberculosis.