French Biotech Signs a Deal to Fight Antibiotic Resistance

Deinove is licensing a portfolio of antibiotics for multi-drug resistant bacteria from Redx Pharma.

Deinove, based in Montpellier, France, has signed an agreement to use synthetic molecules developed by UK biotech Redx to treat lethal anitbiotic-resistant infections. Redx’s molecules are a new class of antibiotics targeting an enzyme involved in bacterial DNA replication in Gram-negative bacteria.

Deinove plans to continue optimizing Redx’s antibiotics in order to enter into preclinical trials with one or more antibiotic molecules. The deal will expand Deinove’s current portfolio of antibiotics, obtained from screening over 6,000 rare bacterial strains.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) includes Gram-negative bacteria on their list of the 12 most dangerous pathogens for human health. Furthermore, according to the WHO, there is a serious need for effective antibiotics that can treat patients with antibiotic-resistant infections at risk of dying within several days.

A variety of other approaches are being currently being tested to combat antibiotic resistance. For example, Motif Bio is developing a Gram-positive bacterial killer, Iclaprim. French company Da Volterra is developing a device that is used with antibiotics to protect the intestinal microbiota from antibiotic residues.

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