Affinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has just bagged a two-year US$4.8 million research contract with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) (an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD)) to fund preclinical studies of selected compounds from Affinium's fatty acid biosynthesis inhibitor portfolio that have demonstrated potential as therapeutics for the treatment of diseases caused by serious pathogens including Francisella tularensis (a potential biological warfare and bioterrorism agent).
According to Nachum Kaplan Vice President Microbiology of Affinium:
"Our partnership with DTRA and the DoD serves as validation of Affinium's portfolio of potent oral antibacterial therapeutics. We believe that through this contract we will continue to demonstrate the high efficacy and desired pharmacokinetics of this new class of antibiotics."
Under the terms of agreement, Affinium will investigate the properties of a select group of its proprietary compounds.
After which, Affinium and its partners will conduct microdosing studies to characterize the compounds' human pharmacokinetic properties and select a lead development candidate to undergo IND-enabling preclinical development as an oral tularemia therapeutic.
Find more details from the press release.
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