Strategic US-German 'superbug' alliance

US biotech start-up Forge Therapeutics has entered into a strategic alliance with German peer Evotec (EVT: Xetra) to advance its novel Gram-negative antibiotic program targeting 'LpxC' for the treatment of bacterial infections including those caused by drug resistant 'superbugs.'

LpxC has been recognized as an attractive antibacterial target for more than the past 15 years; however, a lack of suitable chemical starting points has hampered its progress. Forge has been applying its proprietary metal-binding pharmacophores (MBP) library and processes and has been able to identify potent druggable inhibitors of LpxC.

The alliance will be focused on lead optimization of these inhibitors with the goal of identifying a development candidate in the next couple of years. Evotec will, through a team of more than 10 scientists, contribute cutting-edge biochemistry, microbiology, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, computational chemistry, ADME/PK/analytical, and program management.