Qpex Biopharma, a company spun-out of The Medicines Company focused on the development of anti-infective assets, launched this morning supported by a $33 million Series A financing round and a BARDA contract worth up to $132 million.
Qpex Biopharma, a company spun-out of The Medicines Company focused on the development of anti-infective assets, launched this morning supported by a $33 million Series A financing round and a BARDA contract worth up to $132 million.
The new company launches with a focus on developing solutions to address the worldwide issue of drug-resistant infections. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year in the United States, about two million people develop an antibiotic-resistant infection. Of those, approximately 23,000 people die. This is the arena that Qpex is stepping into with its beta-lactamase inhibitor technology acquired from The Medicines Company.
The $33 million financing, which was led by New Enterprise Associates, will be used to advance the company’s portfolio of anti-infectives into clinical trials.
The new company has a strategic partnership with BARDA, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The partnership with BARDA provides the potential for up to $132 million to support the development of a portfolio of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant, gram-negative infections, the company said. The initial award in 2016 was for $32 million, with up to an additional $100 million available if all options to extend the partnership are exercised by BARDA.
Qpex will be helmed by Mike Dudley, the chief scientific officer of The Medicines Company, as well as other former executives from The Medicines Company’s infectious disease business unit. Dudley and his team have seen past success in the development of anti-infective agents. Over the past five years, the Dudley team has seen four antibiotics approved by regulatory agencies, including three while at the Medicines Company. Dudley and his team have formed a strong bond since their days working with antibiotic companies Rempex Pharmaceuticals and Mpex BioScience. In 2013 The Medicines Company acquired Rempex.
The company launches nearly one year after The Medicines Company announced the sale of its infectious disease business unit to Melinta Therapeutics. That deal gave Melinta three approved antibiotics, Vabomere, Orbactiv and Minocin IV. The Medicines Company receives royalties from those treatments under terms of the deal.
Dudley expressed excitement about the formation of Qpex around the validated beta-lactamase inhibitor technology pioneered by his team at The Medicines Company.
“The urgent, global threat of antimicrobial resistance demands innovation and we’re responding again to the calls sounded by the CDC and WHO for solutions by developing clinical candidates that we believe will be best-in-class anti-infective products. Our progress will be fueled by our proven established R&D partnership with BARDA that has the potential to drive our new programs deep into late-stage development,” Dudley said in a statement.
In addition to New Enterprise Associates, the funding round was also supported by Adams Street Partners, LYZZ Capital, Hatteras Venture Partners and Stanford University Draper Fund.
Carol Gallagher, a partner at New Enterprise, said they see “great potential” in Qpex and looks forward to working with Dudley and his team as they progress their portfolio of drug candidates into the clinic.
