Date: 2017-07-25
Type of information: Grant
Company: Eligochem (UK)
Investors: Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB - X) (USA - MA)
Amount: up to $ 4.8 million
Funding type: grant
Planned used:
- EligoChem is based in Discovery Park, Kent, UK, and focused on the design of amphiphilic compounds that possess good absorption and low attrition risks, particularly suited to antibiotic research. The company is progressing a project to select and develop antimicrobial peptides as Gram-negative antibiotics. The CARB-X funded project focuses on candidate selection from of a series of helical antimicrobial peptides with potent Gram-negative antibiotic action and low frequency of resistance potential. These peptides have significantly reduced toxicity potential compared to other known antimicrobial peptides.
- In February 2017, WHO published its first ever list of antibiotic-resistant "priority pathogens" – a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria that pose the greatest threat to human health. The list was drawn up in a bid to guide and promote research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics, as part of WHO’s efforts to address growing global resistance to antimicrobial medicines. The list highlights in particular the threat of gram-negative bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. The WHO list is divided into three categories according to the urgency of need for new antibiotics: critical, high and medium priority.
- – Priority 1: CRITICAL
- Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant
- Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenem-resistant, ESBL-producing
- – Priority 2: HIGH
- Enterococcus faecium, vancomycin-resistant
- Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant, vancomycin-intermediate and resistant
- Helicobacter pylori, clarithromycin-resistant
- Campylobacter spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Salmonellae, fluoroquinolone-resistant
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae, cephalosporin-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant
- – Priority 3: MEDIUM
- Streptococcus pneumoniae, penicillin-non-susceptible
- Haemophilus influenzae, ampicillin-resistant
- Shigella spp., fluoroquinolone-resistant
Others:
- • On July 25, 2017, EligoChem has been awarded up to $ 4.8 million non-dilutive funding from CARB-X, the world's largest public-private partnership devoted to antibacterial R&D. The company was selected by CARB-X from a group of 368 applicants worldwide and is part of the first cohort that includes companies from Continental Europe.
- CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) is backed by the US Government – through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - and the UK charity Wellcome Trust. It was launched in July 2016 to address the gap in antibiotic research and development and innovations to improve diagnosis and treatment of drug-resistant infections. CARB-X will spend up to $455 million from 2017-2021 to support innovative products from 'hit-to-lead' stage through to Phase 1 clinical trials. CARB-X focuses on high priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. This charitable global public-private partnership is led by Boston University.
Therapeutic area: Infectious diseases
Is general: Yes
