CARB-X FUNDS 100TH PROJECT TARGETING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE

CARB-X, a biopharmaceutical accelerator, has awarded US$452.6 million in non-dilutive funding to 100 projects addressing antibiotic resistance since its inception in 2016. The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) has been awarded US$1.06 million to develop a new class of small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial sliding clamp (DnaN), a crucial component of DNA replication machinery. These compounds show promising antibacterial activities against several pathogens causing community-acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP) and have properties consistent with an oral therapy. CARB-X supports novel approaches to deliver antibiotics that clinicians and patients need, with the aim of offering a workhorse antibiotic for community-acquired infections that will also remove the pressure off antibiotics in the WHO model list of essential medicines. Since 2016, CARB-X has supported R&D projects in 13 countries, with 18 projects advanced into or completed first-in-human clinical trials, 12 remaining active in clinical development, and two diagnostic products reaching the market.