Achaogen licenses Isis antibiotics program

Achaogen will issue $1.5 million of Achaogen stock to Isis and make milestone payments for key clinical and regulatory achievements and royalties on product sales. Achaogen will be solely responsible for the continued development of the program and any related products.

Aminoglycosides are a group of antibiotics that inhibit bacterial protein synthesis and are used to treat serious bacterial infections. The program resulted from research conducted in Isis’ Ibis division to identify drugs to treat antibiotic-resistant infections.

“This licensing agreement will allow us to benefit from Achaogen’s expertise and highly focused research efforts in developing therapies against drug-resistant bacteria, while Achaogen will benefit from our aminoglycoside research and access to our intellectual property,” said Dr Frank Bennett, senior vice president, Antisense Research at Isis Pharmaceuticals.