Polyphor AG (SIX: POLN) presented new data on its lead clinical antibacterial candidate, murepavadin, currently in Phase III, and its preclinical medium-spectrum anti Gram-negative antibiotic POL7306 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The results from an in-vitro study, which investigated the activity of murepavadin and standard of care antibiotics* against a collection of 495 Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) recent clinical isolates, including 179 strains resistant to colistin, demonstrated that murepavadin was more potent than the comparator anti-Pseudomonas antibiotics tested and showed potent activity against colistin-resistant clinical isolates of PA. Murepavadin is the most advanced Outer Membrane Protein Targeting Antibiotic (OMPTA) and is currently in Phase III clinical trials.
Polyphor also presented data from different studies on its new medium-spectrum antibiotic POL7306 from its OMPTA class with a novel mechanism of action, which is in preclinical development for the treatment of infections caused by antimicrobial resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Results demonstrated that POL7306 shows a potent activity against a large collection of Gram-negative organisms collected worldwide that include colistin-resistant, extensively drug-resistant, and extended spectrum beta-lactamase- and carbapenemase-producing isolated for which there are currently limited treatment options. The spectrum of activity includes all Gram negative ESKAPE** and WHO priority 1 Gram-negative pathogens**. In addition, POL7306 demonstrated potent in vivo activity and has shown a low propensity of resistance development.
"We are encouraged by the strong activity of our new OMPTA class of antibiotics which have the potential to provide new treatment opportunities against resistant Gram-negative pathogens for which there are currently limited treatment options," commented Daniel Obrecht, Chief Scientific Officer of Polyphor. "The in vitro study of murepavadin is a further confirmation of the excellent antimicrobial activity in multiple and extensively drug resistant (MDR/XDR), including colistin resistant strains. Thanks to the financial support from the Novo REPAIR Impact Fund and CARB-X, we were able to select a further antibiotic of the OMPTA class and accelerate the preclinical programs which have the potential to target all WHO priority 1 Gram-negative pathogens**."
* Including Aztreonam, Cefepime, Ceftazidime, Ceftazidime / Avibactam, Ciprofloxacin, Piperacilline / Tazobactam, Doripenem, Gentamicin, Ticarcillin-clavulanic acid, Levofloxacin, Tobramycin
** WHO priority 1 pathogens: carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, carbapenem-resistant and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, Gram-negative ESKAPE pathogens: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp.