BioVersys strengthens Ansamycin platform and NTM research through collaboration and license agreement with Hackensack Meridian Health

Basel, Switzerland. March 31, 2026, 7am CEST.

• BioVersys strengthens its Ansamycin Chemistry platform and research on tackling difficult-to-treat non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) diseases.
• BioVersys joins forces with Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) and their Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) to advance ansamycin antimicrobial candidates through an exclusive collaboration and license agreement.
• HMH is a leading US not-for-profit health care network, and the largest in New Jersey.
• NTMs are ubiquitous environmental bacteria, predominately causing morbidity and death in those with long-term lung conditions, like bronchiectasis or cystic fibrosis and requiring long-term antibiotic combination treatments.

BioVersys AG (SIX: BIOV), 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 entered into an exclusive ansamycin drug discovery collaboration and license agreement with Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH), the parties will jointly profile and develop ansamycin candidates coming from HMH. HMH is eligible to receive an upfront and near-term payments as well as royalties on future sales.

BioVersys’ proprietary Ansamycin Chemistry platform has been developed through our research teams in Lille (France) and Basel (Switzerland) and has already produced several advanced, highly potent and orally bioavailable broad-spectrum anti-NTM lead candidates with in vitro and in vivo activity that are now jointly progressed towards candidate selection with Shionogi as part of the BV500 program.

The addition of novel ansamycin chemistry and advanced lead molecules developed by the group of Dr. Thomas Dick and Dr. Véronique Dartois at HMH’s Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) in collaboration with their partner Dr. Courtney Aldrich at the University of Minnesota, further strengthens and is synergistic with BioVersys’ Ansamycin Chemistry platform and the pool of potently active orally bioavailable anti-NTM leads, while also allowing for development of additional antimicrobial agents.

Dr. Marc Gitzinger, CEO at BioVersys: “Early-stage partnerships with leading institutes and health centers from around the world grants us access to the best science to strengthen our Ansamycin Chemistry platform from which we aim to develop new clinical candidates. We are pleased to be working with the team of Profs. Thomas Dick and Véronique Dartois, and the world-renowned Hackensack Meridian Health. This collaboration emphasizes our determination to tackle NTM diseases, which are some of the most difficult bacterial diseases to cure. We strive to bring benefit to vulnerable populations at a higher risk of developing infections, like the 105’000 people known to be living with cystic fibrosis[1] and the ~400 million patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[2] (COPD).”

Dr. Ihor Sawczuk, President of Research, Academics, and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian Health:  “This partnership has huge potential for a growing health problem, and the CDI’s breakthroughs are complemented perfectly by the aptitude of BioVersys.”

Dr. David Perlin CSO and EVP at Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation: “The ingenuity and expertise of Drs. Dick and Dartois is uniquely poised to tackle this critical infectious disease problem. It’s an example of Hackensack Meridian Health and the CDI leveraging its considerable talent to drive a new standard of care forward.”

Dr. Daniel Ritz, CSO at BioVersys: “We are delighted to enter into a partnership with HMH. This collaboration brings together world-renowned experts in antimicrobial research and expands BioVersys’ Ansamycin Chemistry platform, supporting the company’s commitment to advancing innovative treatments for infectious diseases where there is a clear unmet medical need.”

Dr. Thomas Dick, Professor at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine: “NTM infections remain a ‘silent’ crisis for patients with chronic lung conditions, who often face grueling, year-long treatments with limited success. By merging our CDI discoveries with BioVersys’ clinical expertise, we are moving closer to providing these patients with the potent, oral therapeutic options they have been waiting for. We look forward to bringing our advanced lead molecules to the next stage in this partnership. They are the product of a long and successful collaboration with the group of Dr. Courtney Aldrich and Tian Lan at the University of Minnesota.”

Full PR available here