UK's Helperby in deal with Cadila on ARB research and commercialization

Privately-held Indian drugmaker Cadila Pharmaceuticals and UK based antibiotics discovery company, Helperby Therapeutics have signed a joint agreement on antibiotic drug resistance R&D, reports the Economic Times of India and other local media.

The deal value was undisclosed but could contribute to Helperby scaling up in the UK to a potential £500-million (around $800 million) operation, creating employment for 500-1,000 people by 2019, according to The Hindu newspaper.

These new compounds are called antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs). When an ARB is combined with an old obsolete antibiotic, it can rejuvenate it and make it active against highly resistant bacteria. ARBs can potentially rescue several different classes of antibiotics. Furthermore, this approach requires the development of fewer novel compounds, is less risky and less costly than the traditional "one antibiotic" route.

Travelling with British Prime Minister David Cameron’s trade delegation to India this week, Helperby signed its first major licensing deal with Cadila to take the compound through further clinical trials, approvals and into commercialization. Helperby will supply Cadila with ARBs, while the latter will develop combinations with old antibiotics.