Antabio, a French biopharmaceutical company, has received a €4.7 Million Wellcome Trust Seeding Drug Discovery Award to develop novel small molecule drugs for the treatment of life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.
Multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria account for most hospital infections worldwide, causing up to 75,000 deaths yearly and extra healthcare costs/productivity losses of >€ 1.5 billion. One of the most effective treatments is the use of carbapenem antibiotics. However, the usefulness of these antibiotics is becoming increasingly compromised due to the rise of clinical resistance, associated with the spread of genes encoding various metallo ß-lactamase (MBL) enzymes, primarily the carbapenemases NDM-1, VIM-1/VIM-2 and IMP-1.
The Trust has awarded Antabio €4.7m over 3 years to fund the development of a novel, safe and efficacious pan-inhibitor of bacterial metallo ß-lactamases, from current leads to preclinical candidate nomination. The project team, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Marc Lemonnier CEO of Antabio, will develop drugs inhibiting these MBL enzymes, thereby returning carbapenems to full clinical effectiveness.
“As new drugs to treat life-threatening bacterial infections are badly needed, Antabio strongly believes that partnering with the most outstanding players in the drug discovery arena will be key in advancing novel solutions to defeat treatment failure” commented Marc Lemonnier. “We are proud to have the support of the Wellcome Trust on this exciting discovery programme whose success will benefit patients suffering from severe bacterial infections”.
The Wellcome Trust launched the Seeding Drug Discovery initiative in 2005 to facilitate early-stage small-molecule drug discovery in areas of unmet medical need.
About Antabio
Antabio is a private biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibacterial resistance-breakers to treat drug-resistant infections in areas of highest unmet medical need. Two of Antabio’s programs have received Wellcome Trust Seeding Drug Discovery Awards to date: [i] a novel, safe and efficacious inhibitor of bacterial metallo ß-lactamases to be combined with a carbapenem for the treatment of drug-resistant nosocomial infections and [ii] a first-in-class inhibitor of Pseudomonas virulence to be co-administered with standard-of-care antibiotics for the long-term management of chronic respiratory infections. The company’s lead product is expected to enter the clinic in 2019 with a fast track to anticipated marketing approval by 2021. Antabio has built a best in class, international team of experts in the field and is currently seeking to raise additional funds to progress its pipeline up to the next value inflection point. The Company is also looking to in-license additional assets focused on Gram-negative antibiotic resistant therapies. Please visit www.antabio.com and follow us on Twitter @antabio
About the Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust is a global charitable foundation dedicated to achieving extraordinary improvements in human and animal health. It supports the brightest minds in biomedical research and the medical humanities. The Trust’s breadth of support includes public engagement, education and the application of research to improve health. It is independent of both political and commercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk