# BIOSYNTHESIS OF B-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 1989 · $290,310

## Abstract

That Beta-lactam antibiotics account for approximately 10% of
world-wide ethical drugs sales attests to their importance in
combatting bacterial infections in man.  In this renewal
application a research program is detailed to continue biosynthetic
studies of (1) the monocyclic Beta-lactams represented by the
nocardicins and the monobactams, (2) the important lactamase
inhibitor, clavulanic acid, and the related, antipodal clavams,
and (3) the carbapenems using carbapenem-3-carboxylate, the
simplest structurally of this family, as the experimental system.
Groundwork successfully laid in the current grant period in cell-
free studies and enzymology will be expanded and applied with
ongoing synthetic, spectroscopic and stereochemical approaches to
understanding the fundamental biosynthetic steps responsible for
Beta-lactam antibiotic formation.  The knowledge to be gained in
studies of this kind will lead to improved production of these
valuable commodities through incorporation of multiple copies of
key biosynthetic genes in commercial fermentation strains, and
could in the future provide modified structural types with improved
pharmacological properties.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3125938
- **Project number:** 2R01AI014937-11
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **SAM.gov UEI:** FTMTDMBR29C7
- **Principal Investigator:** CRAIG ARTHUR TOWNSEND
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1989
- **Award amount:** $290,310
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1978-09-01 → 1994-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3125938

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3125938, BIOSYNTHESIS OF B-LACTAM ANTIBIOTICS (2R01AI014937-11). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3125938. Licensed CC0.

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