The Swiss nonprofit Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) will provide up to $20 million in technical and financial support for an creative broad-spectrum antibiotic compound developed by biopharmaceutical company Bugworks Research Inc. develops against multidrug-resistant bacteria that cause life-threatening infections.
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In return, the company has granted production and commercialization rights for the BWC0977 compound in as many as 146 countries, almost all of which are low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), GARDP said, announcing a collaboration agreement with the company to co-develop the product.
“We are excited to partner with Bugworks to make key investments at this critical stage in the development of BWC0977,” said GARDP Executive Director Manica Balasegaram. “Many compounds in antibiotic development lack creative properties and do not target priority pathogens. In contrast, BWC0977 stands out for its novelty and potential to address unmet public health needs,” he said in the release.
Technical and financial support is linked to the successful completion of key research and development milestones. Initially, GARDP will provide expertise and financial support for key aspects of BWC0977’s pharmaceutical development, including product formulation. Further investments will support clinical development and chemical, manufacturing and control activities to ensure the final product is suitable for utilize in a variety of countries and contexts, including low-resource settings.
BWC0977 has in vitro activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens that lead to grave nosocomial infections, such as pneumonia, bloodstream infections and complicated urinary tract infections. These pathogens include the WHO critical priority pathogens, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae, for which few treatment options exist.
“Bugworks is excited to collaborate with GARDP to advance BWC0977 through clinical development for the treatment of a variety of drug-resistant bacterial infections,” said Anand Anandkumar, co-founder and CEO of the company. The overarching goal of the partnership is to enable simultaneous access to the compound in Western countries and LMICs that have a high burden of antimicrobial resistance, he said.
Bugworks was founded in 2014 and incubated at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) in Bengaluru. Since 2017, the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) has provided critical support for the preclinical development and first-in-human clinical trial (Phase 1) of this compound with $12.47 million in funding. GARDP will now work with Bugworks to further develop BWC0977 and, once approved, enable global access.
“We are proud of our financial and non-financial support for the Bugworks program… now that this compound has been positioned for advanced development, we look forward to supporting GARDP in bringing this potential modern broad-spectrum antibiotic to patients,” Erin Duffy said head of research and development at CARB-X.
BWC0977 is currently in Phase I clinical trial. Last year, GARDP and Bugworks signed terms to launch a collaboration that would include funding of up to $20 million.