Basel, Switzerland. January 23, 2024, 9am CET
BioVersys AG, a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on research and development of novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant (“MDR”) bacteria, announced today that it has established a long-term research collaboration with the prestigious European institute, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and its site Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat with the currently available therapeutics becoming more and more obsolete due to AMR. In 2019, an estimated 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to bacterial AMR, with an estimated 4.95 million bacterial AMR associated deaths globally.
As part of its continued commitment to develop new and innovative therapeutics for patients suffering with bacterial diseases, BioVersys has initiated a research collaboration with HZI-HIPS, Professor Rolf Müller and collaborators, with the aim of developing new generations of innovative AMR projects for addressing serious life-threatening infections caused by resistant bacteria.
Dr. Sergio Lociuro, Chief Scientific Officer of BioVersys: “It requires persistent commitment and collaboration with world leading experts to stay at the forefront of science. BioVersys has a track record of successful research and development of novel antibacterial programs and strong partnerships with leading academic institutions working on AMR. We are delighted to expand our network of partners to the HZI-HIPS. Together we strengthen our mutual capabilities to identify and develop new therapeutic agents for patients suffering from drug resistant bacterial infections.”
Prof. Rolf Müller, Managing Director of Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS): “Our aim is to tackle antimicrobial resistance by developing innovative anti-infectives for human use. To succeed in this endeavour, we need close interactions with partners from the pharmaceutical industry. In BioVersys, we have found a reliable and experienced partner that perfectly complements the expertise at HIPS. Our collaboration agreement paves the way for advancing our most promising approaches and drive development towards clinical application.”
Several projects, that will be in the focus of the collaboration between BioVersys and HIPS, are also addressed and funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), where Rolf Müller coordinates the research area “Novel Antibiotics”. In November 2023, DZIF awarded 850,000 € in funding to the team of Rolf Müller and collaborators for one of these projects, dealing with the optimization of an advanced lead molecule aiming at the treatment of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. The interaction with DZIF creates additional synergies, greatly benefiting the collaboration between BioVersys and HIPS. DZIF is a virtual center of over 500 scientists from 35 institutions and enables access to a national network of scientists and clinicians working in infection research, thus streamlining the research and development process for anti-infective compounds and strategies.
Full PR available here