Forge Therapeutics Achieves CARB-X Milestone for FG-LpxC LUNG Antibiotic Program

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 22, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Forge Therapeutics, Inc. (Forge), a biotechnology company developing novel anti-infectives targeting bacterial and viral metalloenzymes, announced today that it has been awarded further support from CARB-X of an additional $1.36M in option funding to advance the development of its FG-LpxC LUNG antibiotic program to treat serious lung infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria including multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.  Forge has been awarded this support based upon the achievement of technical milestones for its FG-LpxC LUNG program.

CARB-X, a leading supporter of early-stage antibiotic development, has announced over 90 awards worth more than $342M including several utilizing Forge chemistry such as FG-LpxC UTI (proprietary to Forge), FG-LpxC LUNG (partnered with Roche), and FG-DXR (partnered with Basilea).

"We are thrilled to have achieved the technical objectives required to earn this milestone, allowing us to continue to work with colleagues at CARB-X," said Andrew Tomaras, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Forge.  "The devastation from the global Covid-19 pandemic should remind us all of the impact infectious diseases can have on our way of life, further supporting the never-ending need for new anti-infective agents.  Forge's ongoing relationship with CARB-X and industry-leading pharmaceutical companies exemplifies the types of collaborative partnerships needed to stay ahead of persistent antimicrobial resistance (AMR) development."

LpxC is a validated target in Gram-negative bacteria, yet there are no approved therapeutics that target it.  No company has succeeded in developing safe and efficacious LpxC-targeting compounds in humans, despite multiple efforts. Forge, using its proprietary metal-binding pharmacophore chemistry platform, has developed novel, non-hydroxamate-based LpxC inhibitors that are safe and effective in multiple animal models of infection, demonstrating their ability to kill Gram-negative superbugs where other antibiotics fail.  Forge's medicinal chemistry team has leveraged previous LpxC research experiences to design compounds that have differentiated safety profiles relative to legacy clinical candidates.

P. aeruginosa is one of the world's deadliest superbugs, and a common Gram-negative pathogen associated with hospital-acquired infections. Patients on breathing machines, or suffering from cystic fibrosis, surgical wounds or burns are particularly susceptible. 

About Forge Therapeutics and the MAGNET platform

Forge Therapeutics, Inc. has built a proprietary platform called MAGNET (Metalloprotein-targeting Approach to Generating New Experimental Therapeutics) to discover novel small molecule inhibitors of specific bacterial and viral metalloenzymes.  By focusing on novel inhibitors with unique mechanisms of action, Forge aims to develop entirely novel classes of anti-infectives able to effectively treat patients infected with antimicrobial resistant pathogens.  Forge has a strategic antibiotic discovery relationship with Evotec AG, antibiotic research collaborations with Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. and Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., and has been awarded funding by CARB-X as well as government agencies. For further information, please visit the company's website www.ForgeTherapeutics.com and follow us on Twitter @ForgeThera.

Forge Company Contact:
[email protected]

Forge Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
[email protected]
858-366-3243

CARB-X funding for this research is supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number IDSEP160030 from ASPR/BARDA and by an award from the Wellcome Trust). The contents of this news release are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or other CARB-X funders.

SOURCE Forge Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.forgetherapeutics.com