BENGALURU: The Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership (GARDP) and Bengaluru-based Bugworks Research Inc are collaborating to co-develop a promising new antibiotic compound — “BWC0977” — with broad-spectrum antibiotic activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria that cause life-threatening infections.
As per the agreement, GARDP will provide up to $20 million to Bugworks in technical and financial support for the pharmaceutical and clinical co-development of BWC0977.In return, Bugworks has granted GARDP manufacturing and commercialisation rights for the compound in 146 nations, almost all of which are low-or middle-income countries (LMICs).
“…BWC0977 has shown potent activity against two ‘critical priority’ superbugs (drug resistant pathogens) identified by the WHO – carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae – which are increasingly untreatable and accounted for over 20% of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-associated deaths in 2019 according to the global research on AMR study,” the release read.
Manica Balasegaram, GARDP’s executive director said “BWC0977” stands out for its novelty and potential to address unmet public health needs against priority pathogens where few treatments exist.
Anand Anandkumar, co-founder and CEO, Bugworks, which incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) in Bengaluru, said: “An overarching goal of this partnership is to enable access to this compound simultaneously in Western countries and in LMICs with high AMR burden.
The GARDP-Bugworks collaboration builds on more than $12.4 million in prior funding from CARB-X to advance BWC0977 through early-stage research and initial clinical testing.
The release, issued by C-CAMP, reads: “The development of BWC0977 reflects the bolstering of the global health ecosystem to respond to the AMR crisis. CARB-X has provided critical support for the pre-clinical development and first-in-human (phase 1) clinical study of this compound. GARDP will now collaborate with Bugworks to further develop BWC0977 and, upon approval, enable global access.”
CARB-X R&D chief Erin Duffy, while stating that CARB-X was proud of its financial and non-financial support for the Bugworks programme, said now that this compound has been primed for advanced development, they look forward to GARDP’s support in bringing this potential novel, broad-spectrum antibiotic to patients.
As per the agreement, GARDP will provide up to $20 million to Bugworks in technical and financial support for the pharmaceutical and clinical co-development of BWC0977.In return, Bugworks has granted GARDP manufacturing and commercialisation rights for the compound in 146 nations, almost all of which are low-or middle-income countries (LMICs).
“…BWC0977 has shown potent activity against two ‘critical priority’ superbugs (drug resistant pathogens) identified by the WHO – carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumoniae – which are increasingly untreatable and accounted for over 20% of antimicrobial resistance (AMR)-associated deaths in 2019 according to the global research on AMR study,” the release read.
Manica Balasegaram, GARDP’s executive director said “BWC0977” stands out for its novelty and potential to address unmet public health needs against priority pathogens where few treatments exist.
Anand Anandkumar, co-founder and CEO, Bugworks, which incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP) in Bengaluru, said: “An overarching goal of this partnership is to enable access to this compound simultaneously in Western countries and in LMICs with high AMR burden.
The GARDP-Bugworks collaboration builds on more than $12.4 million in prior funding from CARB-X to advance BWC0977 through early-stage research and initial clinical testing.
The release, issued by C-CAMP, reads: “The development of BWC0977 reflects the bolstering of the global health ecosystem to respond to the AMR crisis. CARB-X has provided critical support for the pre-clinical development and first-in-human (phase 1) clinical study of this compound. GARDP will now collaborate with Bugworks to further develop BWC0977 and, upon approval, enable global access.”
CARB-X R&D chief Erin Duffy, while stating that CARB-X was proud of its financial and non-financial support for the Bugworks programme, said now that this compound has been primed for advanced development, they look forward to GARDP’s support in bringing this potential novel, broad-spectrum antibiotic to patients.
