Redx Pharma signs option and licence deal for anti-infective program with Deinove

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the development of resistant bacteria could cause 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if no innovative treatment is developed. Deinove has made the research of new antibiotics a major axis of development.

In addition to the AGIR program, which consists of the systematic exploration of new bacterial strains with antibiotic activity, Deinove today acquires an optimized program targeting multi-resistant Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

These bacteria are part of the list of the 12 most dangerous pathogens for human health, published by the WHO in 2017. They are responsible for diseases such as hospital acquired pneumonia, which affects 750,000 patients per year in Europe and the United States.

The NBTI program developed by Redx covers a new class of antibiotics targeting bacterial type II topoisomerase. It was selected in 2017 (along with 10 other programs among 168 applications) by the CARB-X consortium, one of the world’s largest public-private initiatives supporting research and innovation against antibiotic resistance.

This program is undergoing optimization and a thorough in vivo evaluation confirming its potential in terms of both efficacy and safety. Deinove will continue the optimization and selection work for a possible regulatory preclinical entry of one or more molecules.

The synthetic molecules contained in the NBTI program perfectly complement the natural products derived from the Deinove strains. These two parallel programs enable Deinove to tackle the problem of antimicrobial resistance by a global approach.

The agreement signed today is for an exclusive licensing option, with Deinove having nine months to confirm its interest in this series of molecules and exercise the option. The transaction includes an upfront payment and a supplement to the exercise of the option.

Redx Pharma executive chairman Iain ROSS said: “Deinove has powerful tools and a strong team to quickly develop the NBTI program.

 In 2017, we announced our commitment to concentrate on the development of our cancer and fibrosis products and we are pleased to have found an ambitious partner for our NBTI anti-infective program.

Deinove CEO Emmanuel Petiot said: "We are delighted to begin this new chapter, which illustrates the continuity of our objectives of developing new antibiotics, and strengthens our strategic position. This agreement gives us access to an advanced program targeting priority pathogens, which has already delivered compelling preclinical data, allowing us to expand our antibiotic activity, always with the goal of creating value quickly."

Source: Company Press Release