Basilea announces acquisition of preclinical antibiotics program from Spexis
15 Janeiro 2024 - 3:15AM
Basilea announces acquisition of preclinical antibiotics program
from Spexis
- Novel class of
antibiotics
- Bactericidal activity
demonstrated in vitro
and in vivo against broad
range of Gram-negative bacteria, including multidrug-resistant
strains
Allschwil, Switzerland, January 15, 2024
Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a
commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the
needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections,
announced today that it has entered into an asset purchase
agreement with Spexis AG (SIX: SPEX) for a preclinical program
of antibiotics from a novel class, targeting Gram-negative
bacteria, including multidrug-resistant strains.1
Dr. Laurenz Kellenberger, Chief Scientific Officer of Basilea,
said: “The acquired antibiotics are of a novel class, targeting the
lipopolysaccharide transport in Gram-negative bacteria, which have
been highlighted by the World Health Organization as priority
pathogens against which new antibiotics are urgently needed. The
convincing potent and rapid bactericidal activity against bacteria
such as Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae, including
multidrug-resistant species, and the activity in infection models,
is very encouraging. We are excited by the addition of this new
program to our growing pipeline and to continue the development of
this targeted antibiotics class, which has the potential to address
an unmet medical need in the treatment of severe bacterial
infections in the hospital.”
The antibiotics were developed within Spexis’ Outer Membrane
Protein Targeting Antibiotics (OMPTA) program and selectively
disrupt the lipopolysaccharide transport bridge, an essential
structure in Gram-negative bacteria. This results in a loss of the
integrity of the outer cell membrane, intracellular accumulation of
lipopolysaccharides and killing of the bacteria. Activity has
been shown in vitro and in vivo against Enterobacteriaceae such as
E. coli and K. pneumoniae, including strains resistant to
beta-lactams and colistin, an antibiotic regarded as last-resort
therapy. The program was funded in part by CARB-X (Combating
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator).2 This
underscores the potential of this novel class of antibiotics.
CARB-X is a global non-profit partnership dedicated to supporting
early-stage antibacterial research and development, to address the
rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria.
Basilea is acquiring all program compounds, know-how and
intellectual property and is paying Spexis up to a total of CHF 2
million, which consists of an upfront payment, a payment related to
the transfer of the assets to Basilea, and a potential final
milestone payment related to the availability of near-term external
funding for the further development of the program. In addition,
Basilea assumes the rights and obligations of Spexis, including
potential low single-digit percentage royalties on sales, under
licensing agreements. The transaction is subject to the approval by
the Western District Court of the Canton Basel-Landschaft.
About multidrug-resistant Gram-negative
bacteria
Infections by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (GNB)
are a major challenge for healthcare professionals. Due to an
additional outer cell membrane compared to Gram-positive bacteria,
it is more difficult for antibiotics to get into the cell. In
addition, this outer membrane carries
lipopolysaccharides/endotoxins which induce inflammation and play
an important amplifying role in the pathogenesis of infections by
GNB and are therefore considered an important virulence factor.
Moreover, GNB can acquire resistance to several classes of
antibiotics such as carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines
and earlier-generation cephalosporins, making infections with GNBs
particularly difficult to treat. In 2017, the World Health
Organization published a list of 12 classes of priority bacterial
pathogens that pose the greatest threat to human health, of which
nine classes are Gram-negative.3
About Basilea
Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded
in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. We are committed to
discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to
meet the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal
infections. We have successfully launched two hospital brands,
Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and
Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections. In addition, we
have preclinical and clinical anti-infective assets in our
portfolio. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN).
Please visit basilea.com.
Disclaimer
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain
forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect",
"forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar
expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil and its
business, including with respect to the progress, timing and
completion of research, development and clinical studies for
product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause
the actual results, financial condition, performance or
achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil is providing this
communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
For further information, please contact:
Peer Nils Schröder, PhD Head of Corporate
Communications & Investor RelationsBasilea Pharmaceutica
International Ltd, Allschwil Hegenheimermattweg 167b4123
AllschwilSwitzerland |
Phone |
+41 61 606 1102 |
E-mail |
media_relations@basilea.com investor_relations@basilea.com |
This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com.
References
- M. Schuster, E. Brabet, K. K. Oi et al. Peptidomimetic
antibiotics disrupt the lipopolysaccharide transport bridge of
drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Science Advances 2023 (9),
eadg3683
- Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X.
CARB-X’s funding for this project is provided in part with federal
funds from the US Department of Health and Human Services;
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical
Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number
75A50122C00028; and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842) and
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The
content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the
authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of
CARB-X or any of its funders.
-
https://www.who.int/news/item/27-02-2017-who-publishes-list-of-bacteria-for-which-new-antibiotics-are-urgently-needed (Accessed:
January 14, 2024)
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