San Diego, California, May 24, 2017 – Forge Therapeutics, Inc., (Forge), a biotechnology company discovering first-in-class antibiotics using a breakthrough drug discovery platform, announced today that the company will present new preclinical data on its novel antibiotic program in an oral talk and poster presentation at ASM Microbe 2017 being held June 1-5, 2017 in New Orleans.
Oral Talk: Saturday, June 3, 2017, 1:25 – 1:35 p.m. EDT
- Session 240 – Design Evaluation and Novel Combinations Involving New Antimicrobials
- Oral talk: In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of Non-Hydroxamate LpxC Inhibitors
Poster Presentation: Sunday, June 4, 2017, 12:15 – 2:15 p.m. EDT
- Session 351 – New Antimicrobial Agents: New Antibacterial Agents II
- Poster 341: In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization of Non-Hydroxamate LpxC Inhibitors
About LpxC and the ‘Superbug’ Epidemic
Millions of people around the globe have become infected with bacteria that are resisted to current antibiotic treatments, or ‘superbugs’, creating a global health epidemic. An estimated 700,000 worldwide deaths occur each year from these drug-resistant infections, and in the U.S. alone, an estimated 23,000 people die each year from antibiotic resistant infections. The biotechnology industry, leading government agencies and world leaders agree that the need for new antibiotics is urgent.
LpxC, is an attractive and highly sought after antibiotic target – it is conserved across Gram-negative bacteria and not found in Gram-positive bacteria or human cells. Other LpxC inhibitors have been evaluated by biopharma in the past but chemistry limitations (e.g. hydroxamic acid) have yielded ineffective compounds that suffer from poor drug-like properties. Thus, there are no approved therapeutics targeting LpxC. Forge, using its proprietary chemistry platform, has developed novel non-hydroxamate inhibitors of LpxC that are safe and effective in an animal model of Gram-negative infection and are able to kill Gram-negative ‘superbugs’ where other antibiotics are ineffective.
About Forge Therapeutics
Forge Therapeutics is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibiotics to treat multi-drug resistant bacteria, or ‘superbugs,’ that have ignited a global health epidemic. With its proprietary chemistry approach, Forge develops small molecule inhibitors targeting metalloenzymes. Forge’s lead effort is focused on LpxC, a zinc metalloenzyme found only in Gram-negative bacteria and which is essential for bacteria to grow. Forge has discovered novel small molecule inhibitors of LpxC that are potent in vitro, efficacious in vivo, and effective against drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria ‘superbugs.’ To complement its innovative approach to drug discovery, Forge has a capital efficient business model that utilizes a mix of non-dilutive and traditional funding sources to advance its programs, including LpxC. Forge has formed a strategic alliance with leading drug discovery alliance and development partnership company Evotec AG and has been awarded multiple government awards to address the global ‘superbug’ epidemic. In addition, Forge has amassed a rich intellectual property estate on metalloprotein inhibitors to protect its technology and pipeline. For further information, please visit the company’s website www.ForgeTherapeutics.com and follow us on Twitter @ForgeThera.
Forge Company Contact:
Forge Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
858-366-3243