Basilea Pharmaceutica International, Basel, Switzerland
https://www.basilea.com/

DXR Inhibitor
NOVEL CLASS OF ANTIBIOTIC
Gram-negative bacteria

Basilea Pharmaceutica is developing a new class of DXR-inhibitor antibiotics to treat drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Basilea’s project aims to develop selective small-molecule inhibitors of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductor isomerase (DXR), an enzyme in the bacterial isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway. This enzyme is essential for the survival of many Gram-negative bacteria, including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales and Acinetobacter baumannii as well as multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which are listed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as urgent and serious threats, or critical pathogens, respectively, against which new antibiotics are urgently needed.

Current Development Stage: Hit to Lead

CARB-X Investment: Initial investment of up to $2.7m.

Initial CARB-X Investment Date: March 1, 2021