€85million European programme targets novel antibiotics

OnTarget Chemistry AB is a partner in a major drive against antibiotic resistance.

Over 30 European universities and companies, led by GlaxoSmithKline and Uppsala University, are joining forces in a 6 year programme funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) to develop novel antibiotics against Gram-negative pathogens in a project called ENABLE (European Gram Negative Antibacterial Engine).

The antibiotic crisis

The world faces a growing epidemic of antibiotics resistance, however only two new classes of antibiotics have been brought to the market in the last 30 years. The discovery and development of new antibiotics is essential to maintain medical advances but poses significant scientific, clinical, and financial challenges, particularly for antibiotics active against Gram-negative bacteria (such as E.coli). Such bacteria have effective barriers against drugs, making treatment difficult, resistance likely and development costs and risks high. In addition, any new antibiotics brought to the market would likely be used cautiously to delay the development of resistance, adding an additional financial challenge in recouping the development costs.

Public private route forward

In response to such barriers in the development of novel antibiotics, the IMI, a research partnership between the European Commission and major pharmaceutical companies (through EFPIA, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations), has launched New Drugs for Bad Bugs (ND4BB), a series of projects to target the bottlenecks in the development and effective use of novel antibiotics.

The ENABLE project, the third within the ND4BB series, spans 13 countries and brings together 32 partners with the mission to establish a significant anti-bacterial drug discovery platform for the progression of research programmes through discovery and Phase 1 clinical trials. A preliminary portfolio of programmes will be expanded through open calls outside the consortium to create a full development pipeline, with the ultimate goal to deliver at least one novel anti-bacterial candidate against gram-negative infections into Phase 2 clinical trials by 2019.

This joint public and private investment through the IMI reflects the changing nature of drug development for high-risk areas such as antibiotics, and has the mission to mobilise expertise from universities and industry in Europe to meet global challenges. It places Europe at the forefront of collaborative research between industry and academia for health challenges.

 “At OnTarget Chemistry we are excited to participate in this major collaborative effort to which we bring some of the industry’s most experienced chemists and a complete medicinal chemistry offering. Our focus is through early discovery and phase I of drug development, so this project is a good fit for us in many ways. “ says CEO Fredrik Lehmann.

"OnTarget Chemistry receives business development support through business incubator Uppsala Innovation Centre’s UIC Business Accelerator program.”

For more information on the role of OnTarget Chemistry AB, please contact:

CEO Fredrik Lehmann, tel: mobile: +46 (0)73-354-12 39, fredrik.lehmann@ontargetchemistry.com

For more information on the ENABLE project please contact the communication manager:

Dr Claire Skentelbery, European Biotechnology Network.  Email: cs@european-biotechnology.net

GSM : 0032 (0)493191810

Additional information

Read more about the EU’s IMI Programme (Innovative Medicines Initiative):

http://www.imi.europa.eu/

Read the EU Commission’s “Action plan against the threats from antimicrobial resistance”

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/docs/communication_amr_2011_748_en.pdf