Startups, Pharma

Iterum launches with $40M for novel antibiotic

Iterum Therapeutics, based in Ireland but financed in the U.S., is comprised largely of the team that launched Durata Therapeutics - which was acquired two years ago by Actavis for $675 million.

antibioticsAnother antibiotic is being removed from big pharma’s shelves, and spun into a new startup with a cool $40 million in Series A funding. Iterum Therapeutics, based in Ireland but financed in the U.S., is comprised largely of the team that launched Durata Therapeutics – which was acquired two years ago by Actavis for $675 million.

It’s keeping quiet about the drug’s mechanism of action, but says it can treat a number of antibiotic-resistant gram-negative, gram-positive and anaerobic bacteria.

A good chunk of the funding will go towards the licensing fees of this “novel anti-infective compound from a top-tier multinational pharmaceutical company.”

Most big pharma players have gotten out of the anti-infective space in general, Iterum CEO Corey Fishman said in a phone interview. They’ve chased instead more lucrative opportunities – like drugs for chronic disease, “things people will be on forever” – instead of antibiotics. This is why Iterum’s licensed compound was shelved, Fishman said.

The company’s being incorporated in Ireland not just for tax reasons, but because of its established manufacturing capabilities, he said. Many anti-infectives are manufactured in Europe, so it “makes logistical sense” to keep operations abroad.

Investors include Frazier Healthcare Partners, Canaan Partners, Sofinnova Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners.

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