Allschwil, Switzerland, December 11, 2020
Polyphor receives an additional USD 2.3 million award from CARB-X to support ongoing development of a new class of antibiotics targeting multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens
Polyphor AG (SIX: POLN) today announced the extension of its existing grant agreement with CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), a global partnership led by Boston University dedicated to supporting the development of antibacterial products to diagnose, prevent and treat drug-resistant infections. The grant will support the development of Polyphor’s novel OMPTA (Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotics) BamA program. The OMPTA-BamA program addresses the deadliest and most resistant Gram-negative bacterial pathogens, potentially active against all three critical priority 1 pathogens in the World Health Organization (WHO) list.
Under the extension of the 2019 agreement, CARB-X is committing to Polyphor additional funding of up to USD 2.3 million, bringing potential funding for this contractual stage to USD 5.1 million. Polyphor may also receive up to USD 13 million in future option stages that could take the program through a first-in-human program if certain project milestones are met.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with CARB-X on our OMPTA-BamA program, which has the potential to be a major breakthrough in addressing carbapenem resistance potentially covering all WHO priority 1 pathogens”, said Gokhan Batur, Chief Executive Officer of Polyphor. “This is another important endorsement of Polyphor’s OMPTA program, following the award by CARB-X in October for our OMPTA Thanatin Derivatives program.”
Polyphor’s novel OMPTA antibiotics target the highest priority Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa), which are the leading cause of severe and often deadly infections throughout the world, such as bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections and pneumonia. Importantly, this new class of antibiotics is active against strains which have become resistant to most commonly used antibiotics including the “last resort workhorse” carbapenems.
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