PolyMedix has received a research contract worth $1.6 million from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), to develop new defensin-mimetic antibiotic compounds.
The primary goal of the contract is to devise more effective rapid-response countermeasures against biowarfare bacterial pathogens and other public health threats.
The work will be conducted by PolyMedix, which will include preclinical animal efficacy studies for intravenous defensin-mimetic antibiotic agents against Category A and B biopathogens, including the infectious agents which cause anthrax, plague, and tularemia.
Nicholas Landekic, President and CEO, PolyMedix, said: “We appreciate the DTRA’s interest in our novel antibiotic approach, and look forward to continuing this work and identifying new generations of antimicrobial compounds. Safeguarding public safety against these dangerous infectious threats is a critically important goal.”