Warp Drive Bio in new deal with big pharma

East Coast biotech firm Warp Drive Bio has inked a major collaboration deal with Switzerland’s Roche to discover and develop multiple novel classes of antibiotics.

The drug discovery company, which seeks to: “Exploit the molecules and mechanisms of nature,” has also licensed its technology to GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi in the recent past.

The new deal is aimed at finding for new antibiotics with novel structures and mechanisms of action, in response to the looking antimicrobial resistance crisis.

Warp Drive will receive up to $87 million in upfront payment, option fees, and milestone payments for preclinical events.

A further $300 million is pegged to clinical, regulatory and sales milestones on an eventual products. In addition, Warp Drive would get tiered royalties on future net sales.