Forge Therapeutics to participate in antimicrobial resistance panel at 2017 Bio Investor Forum
San Diego, California, October 11, 2017 – Forge Therapeutics, Inc., (Forge) announced today that David Puerta, Ph.D., Forge’s Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Discovery, will participate in a panel discussion entitled, “Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance: New Research and Funding Opportunities”, at the 2017 BIO Investor Forum being held October 17-18, 2017 at the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco, CA. Panel details are included below.
Date/Time: October 17, 2017 10:45am PT-11:40am PT, California East Room
Title: Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance: New Research and Funding Opportunities
Moderator: Gregory Frank, PhD, Director, Infectious Disease Policy, Biotechnology Innovation Organization
Panelists:
- David Puerta, PhD, COO and Vice President of Discovery, Forge Therapeutics
- Shelley Chu, MD, PhD, Partner, Abingworth
- Ciara Kennedy, PhD, President and CEO, Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Ted Schroeder, President and CEO, Zavante Therapeutics
- Heather Shane, Executive Director, CLSI CARB-X, California Life Science Institute
Background:
The CDC estimates that at least 700,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections. Due to the rising need to develop new antibiotics, a number of new promising targets such as LpxC – where Forge has focused its current efforts – have been identified in recent years and multiple new funding opportunities have also surfaced to provide support. For example, the CDC, BARDA, the Wellcome Trust, and many others are all committing resources through new initiatives, like the CARB-X grants, to help advance novel, life-saving antibiotics. This session will highlight innovative developments in researching new drugs as well as discuss strategies and funding models responding to the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
About LpxC and the ‘Superbug’ Epidemic
Millions of people around the globe have become infected with bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotic treatments, or ‘superbugs’, creating a global health epidemic. 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 unsuitable compounds that suffer from poor drug-like properties. There are no approved therapeutics targeting LpxC.
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:
Info@ForgeTherapeutics.com
Forge Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
amy@juniper-point.com
858-366-3243