Deinove, a biotech company that discovers, develops and produces high-value compounds from rare bacteria, has signed a license option agreement with the British company Redx Pharma for the acquisition of their first-in-class anti-infective programme, Novel Bacterial Topoisomerase Inhibitor (NBTI), targeting gram-negative infections.
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 programme, which consists of the systematic exploration of new bacterial strains with antibiotic activity, Deinove today acquires an optimised programme 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 US.
The NBTI programme developed by Redx covers a new class of antibiotics targeting bacterial type II topoisomerase. It was selected in 2017 (along with 10 other programmes 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 programme is undergoing optimisation and a thorough in vivo evaluation confirming its potential in terms of both efficacy and safety. Deinove will continue the optimisation and selection work for a possible regulatory preclinical entry of one or more molecules.
The synthetic molecules contained in the NBTI programme 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 that has been signed is for an exclusive licensing option, with Deinove having 9 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.
"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," said Iain ROSS, Executive Chairman of Redx Pharma.
Emmanuel Petiot, CEO of Deinove, added: "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."
