We fund the development of antibiotics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and other life-saving products that target the most serious, resistant bacteria identified by the WHO and CDC priority lists, syndromes with the greatest global morbidity and mortality, and performance characteristics necessary for patients. While CARB-X grants are non-dilutive, we require our product developers to have solid assets that have demonstrated private investment in their project. The result is an innovative pipeline that is growing.

Since 2017, the year of our first investment, CARB-X has accelerated 104 R&D projects, 18 of which entered or completed first-in-human clinical trials. Among these, 2 are on the market, 7 have advanced development partnerships and 12 are in active clinical development. Our portfolio companies have disclosed 83 inventions: 49 from therapeutics, 23 from diagnostics and 11 from preventatives.

Great science knows no boundaries

CARB-X supports the best science and most diverse early development projects from anywhere in the world. In our first seven years, we received over 1,410 expressions of interest from companies or institutions located in 41 countries. We continue to aggressively expand our global outreach and the diversity of projects in the CARB-X pipeline to ensure that no high-value opportunity is overlooked.

Our pipeline strategy is to fund and support projects with diverse approaches and mechanisms of action. The more unique the approaches to antimicrobial resistance, the more likely we are to deliver long-lasting treatments and approaches for drug-resistant bacteria. The projects in the CARB-X portfolio are in the early stages of development, and there is always a high risk of failure. But if successful, these projects hold exciting potential in the fight against the deadliest bacteria.

For diagnostics, CARB-X has embraced an “aligned-by-design” model, where investment in diagnostic products must meet the needs of the CARB-X-funded therapeutic and prevention portfolio. Emphasis is placed on the conduct of clinical trials that result in approval and a label that expresses the full value of the product. Additionally, this strategy is designed to aid successful products with earlier adoption in the market by accelerating inclusion in Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (AST).

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