MicuRx and Cumencor to work with Pfizer
The collaboration will develop antibiotics for drug-resistant TB in China
MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, a US developer of antibiotics to treat drug-resistant bacteria, and Cumencor Pharmaceuticals are collaborating with Pfizer to discover new therapeutics to treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).
Cumencor Pharmaceuticals is a China-based biotechnology company applying MicuRx's proprietary technology to develop these novel antibiotics.
Pfizer will fund the discovery and preclinical development, and royalty payments on sales of any antibiotics developed through the collaboration. All research will be conducted at the ZhangJiang High-Tech Park in Shanghai, China.
‘With the rapid increase of MDR-TB incidence in the emerging markets including China, we believe that it is critical to pursue development of new therapeutic options for patients suffering from this devastating disease around the world,’ said Zhengyu Yuan, chief executive of MicuRx.
‘We expect that any compounds resulting from the collaboration will complement our portfolio of anti-infective agents and build our global presence in the emerging pharmaceutical markets of Asia and beyond,’ added Steve Yang, vice president and head of Pfizer's Asia Research and Development organisation.