Next generation antibiotics to fight global anti-microbial resistance
LEIDEN, The Netherlands (PRWEB) August 29, 2018
Madam Therapeutics, a privately-held biotech company that is developing a novel class of antibiotics inspired by the defense mechanisms of the human body, today announced the closing of its first financing round. The investment comes from a network of European business angels facilitated by Ekoy Investment Partners, De Investeerders Club and Investormatch.
The new funding will be used to continue and accelerate the clinical development of Madam Therapeutics’ lead candidate SAAP-148, by executing a first-in-men proof of concept study starting early next year and preparation of the following clinical phase II trial.
Lead candidate: SAAP-148
When a small subset of bacteria survives antibiotic treatment e.g. by mutations, an infection can get out of control fast. As these resilient microbes thrive, they can group together on a surface—like a wound or a medical device—and encase themselves in a slimy protective layer known as a biofilm. Such biofilm infections “are the really nasty things for patients,” says immunologist Peter Nibbering at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands with whom Madam Therapeutics closely collaborates.
Madam Therapeutics and a team of esteemed Dutch scientists from o.a. Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Amsterdam Medical Center(AMC) have developed a new antibiotic with improved characteristics to fight a broad spectrum of infections. In a recent editorial comment on the new compound on the website of the scientific journal Science, Dr Kim Lewis, a microbiologist at Northeastern University in Boston says that the candidate adds “an important piece … to the puzzle of creating a perfect antibiotic”.
Dr. Remko van Leeuwen, CEO of Madam Therapeutics, comments on this first financing round:
“Most of the antibiotic drugs currently in the worldwide clinical pipeline are modifications of existing classes of antibiotics and are only short-term solutions. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health emergency. There is an urgent need for more research and development for antibiotic-resistant infections, otherwise people will die from very simple infections”. Remko van Leeuwen is thrilled to welcome the group of investors to Madam Therapeutics. “The recent investment clearly represents a growing commitment and understanding from the investment community to the development of new antimicrobial agents and reflects the potential of our drug programs.”
Jaap Wieling, a spokesmen of the investor group says: “This funding will allow Madam Therapeutics to take important steps forward with its lead candidate SAAP-148. Where most traditional antibiotics have a slow acting mechanism of action, SAAP-148 kills the bacteria very fast by attacking them directly from the outside, puncturing the cell membrane and make it deflate. Now with the backing of this solid investor base, the seasoned team will be able to explore the full potential of its technology”.
Ron Byron, Partner at Ekoy invest that helped to successfully put together the investment group says: “From my experience in marketing of antibiotics, I am very much aware of growing need for new antibiotics. Unless antibacterial development is re-energised, there is a serious risk that a growing proportion of infections, especially in hospitals, will become effectively untreatable leading to many unnecessary casualties.”
About Madam Therapeutics
Madam Therapeutics is a privately held company from the Netherlands that is developing Synthetic Anti-Microbial and Anti-Biofilm Peptides (SAAPs) to combat resistant bacterial infections. Our SAAPs have a powerful and fast killing effect towards a very broad spectrum of bacteria and have a very favorable tolerance profile. Our SAAPs combine two characteristics essential for such new strategies: powerful killing of (resistant) bacteria and limited likelihood of emerging resistance. To date, Madam Therapeutics and her academic partners have raised a substantial amount of non-dilutive funding for the development of a family of over 300 unique SAAPs and a pipeline of SAAP based products for multiple infectious diseases.
Madam Therapeutics is currently actively fundraising for the next stages of clinical trials and broadening its pipeline of products, besides looking for co-development partners for further development and commercialization of its products.
For more information, please contact:
Remko van Leeuwen
CEO
+31 71 2040 105 Extension 100
press@madam-therapeutics.com
http://www.madam-therapeutics.com
Investor relations:
investors@madam-therapeutics.com
