Polyphor and the University of Zurich receive an award from Innosuisse to accelerate the development of a new class of antibiotics inhibiting the LPS transport pathway
Allschwil, Switzerland, May 29, 2019
Polyphor and the University of Zurich receive an award from Innosuisse to accelerate the development of a new class of antibiotics inhibiting the LPS transport pathway
Polyphor and the University of Zurich (UZH) announce today that Innosuisse, the Swiss Innovation Agency, has awarded a significant grant for the innovation project “Development of a new class of antibiotics inhibiting the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) transport pathway”. Innosuisse, formerly known as CTI (Commission of Technology and Innovation) helps to fund innovation projects carried out by companies in cooperation with research institutions. The Innosuisse award will finance the salaries and material costs of Polyphor’s project partner UZH, whereas Polyphor will provide an additional contribution, of which a substantial part will be in kind. The research is independent from the project recently funded by Carb-X and the Novo Repair Fund.
The project funded by Innosuisse is based on a novel discovery of Prof. John Robinson and Prof. Oliver Zerbe from the UZH concerning the molecular target and mode-of-action of the natural antimicrobial peptide thanatin. Thanatin inhibits the lipopolysaccharide transport protein A (LptA), which is critically involved in the transport of LPS from the periplasm to the outer membrane and of vital relevance to the bacteria.
“This collaboration is a unique opportunity for the UZH and Polyphor to jointly develop antibiotics against priority 1 Gram-negative bacteria to treat infections with high unmet medical need,” said Oliver Zerbe, Chief Investigator of the project.
“We are delighted to have obtained the support from Innosuisse, which is a further proof of the potential of our technology platform. This project will allow us to continue a highly fruitful collaboration with the UZH which started in 2000 with a first grant from Innosuisse to develop the protein epitope mimetics (PEM) technology, from which all of Polyphor’s current drug portfolio has been developed. Thanatin analogues may lead to another family of compounds inhibiting the outer membrane assembly through a different mechanism than other OMPTAs developed so far,” said Daniel Obrecht, Chief Scientific Officer and co-Founder of Polyphor.
Polyphor has discovered, leveraging its macrocycle platform, a new class of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria with a novel mode of action, the Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotics (OMPTA). The most advanced drug candidate of this new class is murepavadin (POL7080), a highly potent antibiotic in clinical development targeting Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, including its most resistant strains, followed by the next generation OMPTAs (lead candidate: POL7306), now in advanced pre-clinical testing, which are medium-spectrum antibiotics targeting the most important Gram-negative pathogens, including extensively drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant strains.
For further information please contact:
For Investors:
Kalina Scott
Chief Financial Officer
Polyphor Ltd.
Tel: +41 61 567 16 67
Email: IR@polyphor.com
For Media:
Alexandre Müller
Dynamics Group AG
Tel: +41 43 268 32 31
Email: amu@dynamicsgroup.ch
About Polyphor
Polyphor is a clinical stage, Swiss biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of antibiotics and immuno-oncology compounds. It has discovered and is developing the OMPTA (Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotics). The OMPTA are potentially the first new class of antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria to have reached Phase III stage in the last 50 years. The company’s lead OMPTA, murepavadin, (POL7080) is in Phase III development against Pseudomonas aeruginosa - recognized as a critical priority 1 pathogen by WHO; in addition, Polyphor is developing a pipeline of further preclinical antibiotics based on its OMPTA platform. In addition, Polyphor is developing an immuno-oncology candidate, balixafortide (POL6326), which is starting a Phase III trial in combination with eribulin in patients with advanced breast cancer, and exploring in parallel its potential for further combinations and indications. Polyphor is based in Allschwil near Basel and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: POLN). For more information, please visit www.polyphor.com.
Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the Polyphor management. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements made here and the actual development, in particular Polyphor’s results, financial situation, and performance. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only of the date of this communication. Polyphor disclaims any intention or obligation to update and revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
