Alternatives to antibiotics
The innate immune systems of humans and animals provide the first barrier of defence against pathogens. The immune system is ready to be mobilized upon the first signs of infection and plays a vital role in host defence. ALTANT (ALTernatives to ANTibiotics) is a collaborative research programme between academic and business partners that is helping to develop new alternatives to antibiotic use in veterinary health care. ALTANT brings together a multidisciplinary, high calibre research team to investigate the use of new classes of peptides that have shown to have profound antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effects. Partners of ALTANT are the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, ImmunoValley, Zoetis and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.