Biota Obtains US$2.9m NIH Grant for the Development of Novel Antibacterial
10 June 2011 - 10:00PM
Business Wire
Biota Holdings Limited (ASX:BTA) advises that its wholly owned
subsidiary, Biota Scientific Management Pty Ltd, has been awarded a
grant to fund the preclinical development of a lead candidate for
the treatment of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).
The first years payment is US$830,287 of a 5 year grant
totalling US$2.9m. Future payments to Biota are subject to
satisfactory project progress and the availability of funding.
The award (Number ROI A1094456) is from the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS).
The C. difficile program was part of the assets acquired from
Prolysis in November 2009.
About Clostridium difficile
C. difficile infection (CDI) usually occurs in hospitalised
patients who have been treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics
disrupt the balance of naturally occurring bacteria in the gut,
allowing C. difficile to multiply and cause a spectrum of symptoms
ranging from diarrhoea to life-threatening inflammation of the
colon. C. difficile forms persistent infective spores that can act
as a reservoir for transmission of the infection in hospitals.
In recent years, the emergence of a new, more virulent strain of
C. difficile has resulted in an increase in CDI incidence, severity
and consequent deaths. Hospital costs associated with CDI have been
estimated to be in excess of $3.2 billion per annum in the US.
Current CDI treatment usually involves the use of metronidazole or
vancomycin; however, a significant number of patients treated with
these drugs continue to suffer from reoccurrence of CDI and novel
treatment options are urgently required.
About Biota
Biota is a leading anti-infective drug development company based
in Melbourne Australia, with key expertise in respiratory diseases,
particularly influenza. Biota developed the first-in-class
neuraminidase inhibitor, zanamivir, subsequently marketed by
GlaxoSmithKline as Relenza™. Biota research breakthroughs include a
series of candidate drugs aimed at treatment of respiratory
syncytial virus (RSV) disease and Hepatitis C (HCV) virus
infections. Biota has clinical trials underway with its lead
compound for human rhinovirus (HRV) infection in patients with
compromised respiration or immune systems.
In addition, Biota and Daiichi Sankyo co-own a range of second
generation influenza anti-virals, of which the lead product,
lnavir®, is approved for marketing in Japan.
Relenza™ is a registered trademark of the GlaxoSmithKline group
of companies.
Inavir® is registered to Daiichi Sankyo.
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