News

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals and Cumencor Pharmaceuticals Partner with Pfizer to Discover and Develop Antibiotics for Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in China


29 Apr 2010
by Working Group

We first read this post at FierceBiotech.com.

researcher at scope in shadow
New drugs are needed to combat MDR-TB

HAYWARD, Calif. and SHANGHAI, April 6 /PRNewswire/ — MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of antibiotics to treat drug-resistant bacteria, and Cumencor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the companies have entered a collaboration with Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) to discover novel therapeutic agents to treat multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Cumencor Pharmaceuticals is a China-based biotechnology company applying MicuRx’s proprietary technology platform to discover and develop novel antibiotics for MDR-TB.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will provide an upfront payment, funding for the discovery and preclinical development of novel antibiotics to treat MDR-TB, and payments linked to the development and commercialization (including royalty payments on sales) of any antibiotics developed through the collaboration. All collaboration research will be conducted at the ZhangJiang High-Tech Park in Shanghai, China.

“We are extremely pleased to join forces with Pfizer, a world-class pharmaceutical company that has developed numerous successful antibiotics to treat infectious disease worldwide,” said Zhengyu Yuan, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MicuRx. “With the rapid increase of MDR-TB incidence in the emerging markets including China, we believe that it is critical to pursue development of new therapeutic options for patients suffering from this devastating disease around the world.”

“MicuRx’s novel approach to developing antibiotics for the treatment of drug-resistant bacteria and their existing technology, know-how and expertise provide the basis for this collaboration,” said Steve Yang, Ph.D., Vice President and Head of Pfizer’s Asia Research and Development organization. “We expect that any compounds resulting from the collaboration will complement our portfolio of anti-infective agents and build our global presence in the emerging pharmaceutical markets of Asia and beyond.”

About Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB)

Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs, but may also infect other organs. Due to improper use of antibiotics or incomplete treatment regimens, resistance to currently available therapeutics is growing at an alarming rate. Today, the World Health Organization estimates that China accounts for more than 25% of all worldwide cases of MDR-TB. Because of insufficient supervision and lack of adherence to therapeutic TB regimens, MDR-TB is nearly twice as common in China when compared to the rest of the world. MicuRx and Pfizer are working together to develop new antibiotics to combat MDR-TB.

About MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

MicuRx is discovering and developing novel antibiotics to combat infections due to resistant bacteria. Positioned to capture the benefits of United States research and development expertise together with China’s abundant scientific talent and cost-effective discovery, preclinical and development, the company has built a pipeline of drug candidates for the treatment of gram positive, gram negative and fungal infections. MicuRx expects to begin a phase I trial for its lead compound MRX-I for the treatment of drug-resistant MRSA and VRE in 2010. The company has research and development facilities in San Francisco Bay Area and Shanghai, China.
SOURCE MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

More News
23 Aug 2022
Last week, the PAN-TB collaboration announced initial plans for a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating two novel drug regimens to treat Tuberculosis. Sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the PAN-TB, or “Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis”, collaboration brings...
4 May 2022
Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid communication which detailed the upcoming changes to the treatment guidance for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB). These guidelines are used to inform national TB programmes globally on how to treat patients with these...
5 Apr 2022
On April 01, 2022, the Stop TB Partnership launched the second online consultation for the new Global Plan to End TB 2023-2030. Over the years, the Global Plans have been important tools for advocacy and resource mobilization, and served as a reference document for donors and stakeholders. In May...