CARB-X Award Worth up to $12.17M USD to Develop Peptilogics’ Lead Compound in Prosthetic Joint Infection and Accelerate Development of Additional Novel Antibiotics
PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Peptilogics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a computational peptide therapeutics discovery platform and novel best-in-class anti-infective compounds, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research and development. As part of the agreement, Peptilogics is eligible to receive up to $12.17M USD in non-dilutive capital to advance its lead program, PLG0206 through Phase 1 clinical studies for its first indication of prosthetic joint infections (PJI). Funding from CARB-X also enables Peptilogics to accelerate expansion of its peptide discovery platform for the development of other novel compounds.
“The antimicrobial crisis is here and the world is paying closer attention to the threats posed by infectious diseases, as evidenced by recent news headlines,” said Jonathan Steckbeck, Founder and CEO of Peptilogics. “We are excited by our partnership with CARB-X because they recognize and fund only the most robust science and are aligned with our goal of bringing best-in-class medicines to patients suffering from a lack of effective alternatives. Working with CARB-X, the world’s premier funder of innovative early development antibacterial R&D, strengthens our position in building a leading company to address this current threat to modern medicine.”
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are one of the largest global public health challenges today and current treatments often fail to treat new and emerging resistant strains, resulting in exponentially increasing patient deaths. Peptilogics discovered a new class of anti-infectives using their proprietary algorithmic design process, which have applications across multiple industries and a broad spectrum of resistant bacteria. Their lead candidate, PLG0206, has a novel mechanism of action that works by targeting and disrupting bacterial membranes leading to the death of bacterial cells, and has demonstrated best-in-class, broad-spectrum activity against pathogens identified by WHO and CDC as critical, urgent, or high priority targets. PLG0206 has been granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which provides incentives for the development of new antibiotics, including an additional five years of market exclusivity, as well as eligibility for Priority Review and Fast Track designation.
Jason Camm, Managing Director and Chief Medical Officer of Thiel Capital and Peptilogics Board Director said: “We focus on working with companies advancing truly novel therapeutic breakthroughs that address gaps in disease-treatment paradigms. Peptilogics continues to demonstrate a differentiated approach to building their business – with a unique indication strategy and a computational discovery platform that targets among the most prevalent infectious disease indications worldwide. We look forward to working together with CARB-X, as we are two organizations with shared values around solving difficult, valuable problems on a global scale.”
About Prosthetic Joint Infections
More than 1 million total joint replacements are performed annually in the U.S., a number that is expected to grow to 4 million annual procedures by 2030. Following joint replacement, patients who develop a PJI face a serious life-threatening condition with few to no effective treatment options available, and require major surgery in an attempt to resolve the infection. This current treatment standard has a high failure rate, often requiring additional follow-on surgical procedures, which result in substantial numbers of patient deaths, evidenced by a 20% 5-year mortality rate, higher than that found in either breast or prostate cancers. The number of cases of PJI is expected to grow rapidly as joint replacements, one of the most common major surgical interventions in the world, become more frequent in an aging and growing population.
About Peptilogics
Peptilogics is a clinical-stage biotechnology platform company discovering and developing novel peptide therapeutics for critical unmet medical needs. The company’s first focus is to provide solutions for the current crisis of drug-resistant bacterial infections, which kill more than 700,000 people globally each year, according to a 2016 United Kingdom government study. Peptilogics’ anti-infective program focuses on compounds derived from their proprietary computational design platform that have demonstrated novel mechanisms of action for the treatment of multidrug-resistant infections. Using rational, statistical, and algorithmic design principles, the technology amplifies antimicrobial activity while also achieving a strong safety profile, generating broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotics that demonstrate a substantially lower risk of generating drug resistance than existing solutions. More information on Peptilogics can be found at www.peptilogics.com as well as on Twitter (www.twitter.com/peptilogics; @Peptilogics) and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/peptilogics).
About CARB-X
Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating early stage antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X is investing up to $500 million between 2016 and 2021 to support innovative antibiotics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics, and other life-saving products. CARB-X focuses exclusively on high-priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. The scope of CARB-X funding is restricted to projects that target drug-resistant bacteria highlighted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s 2013 Antibiotic Resistant Threats list, or the Priority Bacterial Pathogens list published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017 – with a priority on those pathogens deemed Serious or Urgent on the CDC list or Critical or High on the WHO list. CARB-X is led by Boston University. CARB-X funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). CARB-X is headquartered at Boston University School of Law. Follow us on Twitter @CARB_X.
Contacts
Caroline Rufo, PhD
MacDougall
crufo@macbiocom.com
781-235-3060