Achaogen wins contract for development of new antibiotics

Achaogen, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has received a $26.6m contract over five years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The award will fund the discovery and development of proprietary Achaogen compounds to combat biothreat strains of Gram-negative bacteria such as Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of bubonic plague, and Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia.

Achaogen said that its neoglycosides, next-generation aminoglycosides, have shown broad-spectrum efficacy in vitro and in vivo against a wide range of multi-drug resistant Gram-negative organisms (including Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae) as well as multi-drug resistant Gram-positive bacteria (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus strains).

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) funding will support Achaogen work to extend the spectrum and efficacy of its current leads, and to advance one neoglycoside through Phase I clinical trials.

Kevin Judice, CEO and chief scientific officer of Achaogen, said: We are delighted that Achaogen has successfully competed for funding to advance our pipeline of novel therapies to multi-drug resistant antibacterial infections, including our expanded-spectrum neoglycosides portfolio.

Achaogen shares NIAID’s commitment to addressing the global concerns of biothreat bacteria and antibiotic resistance. We are excited to be at the forefront of the development of potential solutions to these concerns.