Affinium launches new offensive on superbugs
Anti-infective drug discovery company Affinium Pharmaceuticals has selected a drug candidate for the development of a novel MRSA antibiotic to be used in hospital and community settings. The candidate is one of multiple compounds from Affinium's Galapagos programme.
Anti-infective drug discovery company Affinium Pharmaceuticals has selected a drug candidate for the development of a novel MRSA antibiotic to be used in hospital and community settings. The candidate is one of multiple compounds from Affinium's Galapagos programme.
'It is important that our development candidate operates via a novel mechanism of action with very novel chemistry, and distinct from any other antibiotic on the market,' said Dr Judd Berman, senior vice president of chemistry.
'Our drug candidates selectively inhibit a bacterial pathway to kill bacteria without any detectable side effects to the analogous human pathway. Because of their unique way of working, we believe resistance will be slow to develop. Our team selected Affinium's first development candidate after evaluating animal data from more than 150 front runner compounds with potent MRSA activity from this new antibiotic class.'
Dr John D. Mendlein, Affinium chairman and ceo, added: 'The recent advancements of our MRSA programme represent an important milestone in the development of a new class of breakthrough antibiotics. The last time the industry targeted a new pathway with an antibiotic was the fluoroquinolone class in the 1960s, which now represents more than US$7bn in worldwide annual sales.'