GENEVA– The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) has today announced an agreement with Swiss biopharmaceutical company BioVersys to explore opportunities to accelerate the research and development of antibiotics for serious bacterial infections.

The Memorandum of Understanding includes supporting BioVersys in the preparation of a paediatric investigational plan (PIP) aimed at ensuring that BioVersys generates the necessary evidence to support the authorization of the antibiotic BV100 for paediatric populations. BV100 is a narrow spectrum antibiotic being developed for the treatment of multidrug-resistant hospital-acquired infections.

The BV100 compound, which has received Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation from the U.S. FDA, has demonstrated exceptional in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activity on multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii.

Carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is listed as an urgent threat by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as critical on the World Health Organization priority pathogen list. CRAB-associated mortality in pneumonia is unacceptably high (≥ 50%) and there are few drugs in development for this unmet medical need.

“This Memorandum of Understanding with BioVersys is an important opportunity to explore synergies in the development of treatments for serious bacterial infections in children, in particular those caused by priority pathogens such as Acinetobacter baumannii,” said Seamus O’Brien, Research and Development Director of GARDP.

Marc Gitzinger, CEO and founder of BioVersys said: “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration with GARDP as it underlines BioVersys’ commitment to deliver novel therapies addressing the unmet medical need of antimicrobial resistance. With the support of GARDP, we will start to plan for the evaluation of BV100 for use in children.”

About GARDP

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP) is a not-for-profit organization developing new treatments for drug-resistant infections that pose the greatest threat to health. Established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in 2016, GARDP is a core element of WHO’s Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. We were created to ensure that everyone who needs antibiotics receives effective and affordable treatment, no matter where they live. We aim to develop five new treatments by 2025 to fight drug-resistant infections, focusing on sexually transmitted infections, sepsis in newborns and infections in hospitalized adults and children. GARDP is funded by the governments of Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières and private foundations. www.gardp.org

About BioVersys

BioVersys AG is a privately owned Swiss pharmaceutical company focusing on research and development of small molecules acting on novel bacterial targets with applications in Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and targeted microbiome modulation. With the company’s award-winning TRIC technology we can overcome resistance mechanisms, block virulence production and directly affect the pathogenesis of harmful bacteria, towards the identification of new treatment options in the antimicrobial and microbiome fields. By this means BioVersys addresses the high unmet medical need for new treatments against life threatening resistant bacterial infections and bacteria-exacerbated chronic inflammatory microbiome disorders. Our most advanced R&D programs are in preclinical development for nosocomial infections (hospital infections), and Tuberculosis in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and a consortium of the University of Lille. In 2020 BioVersys plans to launch its first Phase I clinical trials. BioVersys is located in the Technologiepark in the thriving biotech hub of Basel. www.bioversys.com