GlaxoSmithKline partners with BARDA to develop new class of antibiotic; amends deal with Anacor

The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has awarded a contract to UK pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) for advanced R&D for an antibiotic code-named GSK2251052. The drug would represent the first new class of antibacterial agent to treat Gram-negative infections in 30 years.

The contact is for $38.5 million in the first two years and can be extended for a total of four years, up to a total of $94 million. Under the contract, BARDA will provide technical and financial support for the development of GSK2251052, sharing the cost and drug development risk.

GSK had been developing GSK2251052 for ventilator-associated pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infections, and complicated intra-abdominal infections, in which an operation would not remove all of the infected tissue. The BARDA contract support studies to evaluate the efficacy of GSK2251052 against bioterrorism threats, Phase II clinical trials using the drug to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia, and Phase III clinical trials using the drug to treat complicated intra-abdominal infections.