Affinium wins $4.8 DTRA contract to fight tularemia
Company will begin preclinical development using an existing portfolio of fatty biosysnthesis inhibitors; end goal is an oral tularemia therapeutic; effort builds on previous work for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Toronto, Canada-based Affinium Pharmaceuticals has won a $4.8 million contract from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to begin preclinical studies, using compounds from Affinium’s fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitor portfolio, of therapeutics for the treatment of diseases caused by pathogens. First and foremost on the agenda is Francisella tularensis, a potential biological warfare and bioterrorism agent that creates the condition known as tularemia. After identifying the most promising compounds, Affinium will conduct microdosing studies to characterize their human pharmacokinetic properties and select a lead development candidate to undergo IND-enabling preclinical development as an oral tularemia therapeutic.
The contract builds on previous successful research into the inhibition of Francisella tularensis conducted with the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “Our partnership with DTRA and the DoD serves as validation of Affinium’s portfolio of potent oral antibacterial therapeutics,” said Nachum Kaplan of Affinium. “We believe that through this contract we will continue to demonstrate the high efficacy and desired pharmacokinetics of this new class of antibiotics.”
-read more in this company news release
