Pfizer out-licenses global rights to TB drug candidate

Sequella, a USA-based clinical-stage pharmaceutical company commercializing novel antibiotics to treat life-threatening infectious diseases, has licensed pharma behemoth Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize sutezolid, a Phase II oxazolidinone antibiotic currently in development for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB).

Under the terms of the deal, Sequella will be solely responsible for completing clinical development and commercializing the product globally. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Sutezolid demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the laboratory and in animal models of TB, an aerosol-transmitted infection with a prevalence of over 2 billion people worldwide. It also demonstrated encouraging activity in a Phase IIa Early Bactericidal Activity (EBA) study in TB patients in South Africa.