Award to help fund Phase IIa clinical trial with novel antimicrobial against superbug Clostridium difficile
Glasgow, Scotland, 14th March 2018 – MGB Biopharma, a biopharmaceutical company developing truly novel anti-infectives, announces today that it has been awarded a £2.78 million grant from Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation agency, under its Biomedical Catalyst programme.
The grant will help fund a Phase IIa trial of the oral formulation of MGB Biopharma’s lead investigational drug candidate, MGB-BP-3, for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection. Approximately 30 patients are expected to be enrolled into this multi-centre Phase IIa trial to determine the safety, tolerability, dosing schedule and efficacy of ascending doses of oral MGB-BP-3.
Dr Miroslav Ravic, CEO of MGB Biopharma, said: “We are delighted that MGB Biopharma has been chosen as one of the recipients of this prestigious award from Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst programme. The oral formulation of MGB-BP-3 has shown promising efficacy and good safety and tolerability profiles in pre-clinical testing, and in our Phase I trial. The funding provided by this grant from Innovate UK, together with the additional support of our investors, will allow us to initiate this patient trial by the summer of 2018.
Despite a renewed interest in developing new antimicrobials, there is still a clear need for truly novel and differentiated products to tackle the growing concern of antimicrobial resistance. We believe that MGB-BP-3’s novel mechanism could, for the first time in over a decade, provide a meaningful breakthrough in the development of antimicrobials for hospital-acquired infections in particular.”
Professor Colin Suckling, MGB technology inventor at the University of Strathclyde, said “We are extremely pleased that MGB Biopharma has received this grant funding to progress MBG-BP-3. It is a significant achievement for a drug designed and initially developed in an academic lab to reach a Phase IIa clinical trial. MGB-BP-3 is based on our (DNA) minor groove binder technology platform that was licenced to MGB Biopharma. We are optimistic that this novel antimicrobial will play an important role in the treatment of Clostridium difficile.”
Anti-infectives based on the minor groove binder technology have the potential to deliver significant advantages over current approaches including broad, bactericidal activity against multi-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens. In addition to the oral formulation of lead candidate MGB-BP-3, MGB Biopharma is developing an intravenous formulation targeting a range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections commonly acquired in hospitals.
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For further information, please contact:
MGB Biopharma
Miroslav Ravic, Chief Executive Officer
enquiries@mgb-biopharma.com
+44 (0) 208 946 0120
About MGB Biopharma
MGB Biopharma is developing a truly novel class of anti-infectives. MGB’s lead candidate, MGB-BP-3, is active against key multi-resistant Gram-positive pathogens. The Company has developed an oral formulation of MGB-BP-3 for Clostridium difficile that is ready to enter a Phase IIa clinical trial, following the successful completion of a Phase I trial, while an intravenous formulation for a range of Gram-positive infections is in pre-clinical-stage development.
MGB Biopharma’s anti-infectives are based on minor groove binders (MGBs). Minor groove binders have a new mode of action that offers significant advantages over existing anti-infectives, such as being bactericidal and active against a broad range of drug-resistant bacteria.
MGB Biopharma has close links with the University of Strathclyde, with exclusive worldwide licence rights to Strathclyde’s MGB patents for all fields expect anticancer. The Company intends to work with partners to fully capitalise on the multiple value creating opportunities offered by its broad and novel anti-infectives platform
The Company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. It is backed by Scotland’s investors including Archangel Informal Investment, Barwell, TriCapital and the Scottish Co-Investment Fund. For more information please visit www.mgb-biopharma.com.
About Technology Strategy Board
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Innovate UK brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.