Date: 2017-07-25
Type of information: Grant
Company: Antabio (France)
Investors: Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB - X) (USA - MA)
Amount: up to $8.9 million
Funding type: grant
Planned used:
- The funding will be used to accelerate the development, up to completion of Phase 1 clinical trials, of Antabio’s novel small molecule drug for the treatment of chronic Pseudomonas infections in cystic fibrosis patients. These bacteria grow as biofilm clusters that are resistant to immune clearance and conventional antibiotics. CARB-X funding will help support Antabio’s Pseudomonas Elastase Inhibitors (PEI) project. The PEI project seeks to develop inhibitors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa LasB elastase virulence factor, thereby targeting the bacterium’s ability to evade the immune system and cause disease, and when given alongside antibiotics, helping to clear Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.
- 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, Antabio announced that it has been awarded up to $8.9 million non-dilutive funding from CARB-X, the world's largest public-private partnership devoted to antibacterial R&D. Antabio 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. The award provides immediate funding of up to $2.8 million with options for up to $8.9 million upon achievement of milestones.
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
