Prokaryotics Receives $2.5 Million SBIR Grant to Support Novel Antibiotic Program

Prokaryotics, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel anti-infective drugs, announced today that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Grant (SBIR) valued at up to $2.5 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The two-year agreement will fund research by Prokaryotics on the restoration of beta-lactam efficacy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococci.

For the first phase of the grant (R4AI136213), $299,999 will fund studies to improve potency and pharmacokinetic parameters of the adjuvant. Contingent on the success of the first phase, second phase funds of $2.2 million will be used to drive towards selection of a single pre-clinical candidate which could be paired with intravenous as well as orally-administered beta-lactam antibiotics to treat MRSA infections in both hospital and out-patient settings.

"We are excited about receiving our first grant so soon after executing the exclusive license for novel antibiotic candidates from Merck in January 2018", stated Terry Roemer, Ph.D., founder and chief scientific officer of Prokaryotics. "We greatly appreciate NIAID's leadership in providing research funding for such a critical area, where new antibiotics are critically needed to treat patients with infections caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens, including MRSA".

About Multi-Drug Resistant Infections 
The relentless advance of antibiotic drug resistant bacteria has raised concerns whether within the next 2-3 decades we could be facing a 'pre-antibiotic era' where existing antibiotics will become largely ineffective in treating serious and life-threatening infections. Indeed, the World Health Organization has projected that the impact on human health and economic costs associated with antibiotic drug resistance will rival that of global warming. New classes of antibiotics with novel mechanisms of action are urgently needed to combat the growing threat of multi-drug resistant bacteria.

About Prokaryotics, Inc. 
Prokaryotics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotic classes that target serious multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. Prokaryotics leverages a deep knowledge of bacterial physiology, innovative screening strategies, and scientific excellence necessary to discover and develop new classes of antibiotics targeting outer membrane biogenesis - the fundamental armor erected by bacteria to naturally withstand the effects of antibiotics.

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