Three years ago, Yale University professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry Thomas Steitz won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his research on the structure and function of the ribosome. Now, the company that he co-founded to create new antibiotics that overcome drug resistance is preparing to enter phase 3 clinical trials.
Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, the New Haven, Connecticut company co-founded by Steitz and fellow professors Harry Noller, Peter Moore, William Jorgensen and John Abelson, disclosed in a new regulatory filing that it secured the first $18.7 million tranche of a $67.5 million financing round. In a statement, the company said the series B funding came from new investor Vatera Healthcare Partners and existing investors Warburg Pincus, ABS Ventures and Vox Equity Partners.
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With the financing, the company will initiate the first of two planned phase 3 clinical trials for its lead candidate, delafloxacin, which is being developed in IV and oral forms to be used in hospitals prior to the availability of a specific diagnosis. It has the potential to serve as a first-line monotherapy for many gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial infections including Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the company says.
The drug has been tested in more than 1,200 patients in four phase 2 trials, where it’s shown promising results in the treatment of pneumonia, bronchitis and skin infections. It’s being developed in oral and IV formulations so that patients who begin with IV treatment can continue at home.
Rib-X says its key competitive advantage is its understanding of the atomic-level details of the bacterial ribosome, an established target of antibiotics, along with its focus on 3-D properties of antibiotics.
Drugs like Pfizer’s Zyvox, Theravance’s Vibativ and ViroPharma’s Vancomycin are part of an antibiotics market that generates annual sales of more than $40 billion, and the rise of superbugs has sparked some innovation here. Although some Big Pharmas have abandoned the hunt for better antibiotics, there are several well-funded small companies still standing like Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Cempra and Durata Therapeutics.
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Rib-X filed for an IPO in November of last year but postponed it without explanation in May.
