BIOCEO15: ContraFect CEO Says Lysin, AB Anti-Infectives Are “Game-Changers” in 2015
February 9, 2015
By Riley McDermid, BioSpace.com Breaking News Sr. Editor
New York biotech ContraFect is ramping up clinical trials for its lysin and antibacterial anti-infectives, as the health care industry continues to grapple with the sharp decline of new antibiotics with drug resistance, Chief Executive Officer Julia P. Gregory told a panel in New York on Monday.
“Our preclinical data shows 2.5mg/kg [experimental drug] CF-301 will kill up to 10 million MRSA cells injected into animals,” Gregory told the audience at the BIO CEO and Investor Conference. ContraFect said it will continue tackling life-threatening infection with its "game changer" lysin, an alternative to traditional antibiotics.
Lysins are enzymes that digest the cell wall of bacteria and are unlike standard-of-care antibiotics, because they are usually faster and more effective at killing bacteria.
“Traditional antibiotics, and most cytotoxic agents, require bacterial cell division and metabolism to occur in order to exert their effect (i.e., cell death or cessation of growth). Based on in vitro tests, lysins, however, are fundamentally different in that they rapid bactericidal activity. Lysins have the ability to kill bacteria immediately upon contact,” said Gregory.
“Our lysins target the conserved regions of bacteria. Based on our research and experimentation to date, bacteria have shown minimal resistance to our lysins. It is our intention to maintain this attribute for all of our product candidates,” she said. “Additional key features of our lysins that distinguish them from many standard-of-care antibiotics include full activity against antibiotic-resistant bacteria (while sparing "good" bacteria), synergy with antibiotics, and the ability to eradicate biofilms.”
Gregory made the comments as part of a panel at the 17th Annual BIO CEO and Investor Conference at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Last year, BIO CEO, a well-known annual schmooze-fest for the biotech community, had more than 1,400 attendees from 26 different countries, with around 750 investors and around 1,820 partnering meetings scheduled, according to event organizers.
So far, ContraFect has two lead programs, CF-301, a treatment of drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, including MRSA, for which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the commencement of a Phase 1 clinical trial; and CF-404, a treatment for life-threatening influenza infections, covering all strains of influenza.
Gregory told attendees that CF-404 works as a flu vaccine cocktail, making it "universal." She added that their new strain aims at the infamous, pandemic 1918 flu, but stressed that many will still need shots in order to be fully protected.
Hospital acquired infections are currently the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, following heart disease, cancer and stroke. Gregory said Monday that ContraFect will continue to address drug-resistant infections using “our therapeutic product candidates from our lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms to target conserved regions of either bacteria or viruses, or regions that are not prone to mutation.”
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