ALAMEDA, Calif., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Cerexa Inc. today announced it has expanded its portfolio of novel anti-infective therapies through an in-licensing agreement with Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd.
Cerexa has obtained exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ME1036, a broad-spectrum parenteral carbapenem that has demonstrated excellent preclinical activity against both aerobic and anaerobic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including common drug-resistant pathogens. Unlike carbapenems that are available today, ME1036 is highly active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE).
"We believe ME1036's unique antimicrobial spectrum will provide significant advantages over currently marketed products used to treat serious, life-threatening infections in the hospital setting," said Dennis Podlesak, Chief Executive Officer of Cerexa. "This acquisition represents another meaningful milestone in our growth strategy and plan of building a portfolio of highly-differentiated, synergistic hospital antibiotics around our lead product candidate, Ceftaroline."
Cerexa's development of ME1036 will focus on addressing the challenge of increasing resistance among bacterial pathogens that cause severe hospital-acquired infections, such as pneumonia, complicated skin and skin structure infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections, complicated urinary tract infections and bacteremia. The company plans to initiate a Phase 1 trial in the first half of 2007.
About Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd.
Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. is located in Tokyo, Japan, and is operating its business in the fields of confectionaries and pharmaceuticals. In the Pharmaceutical division, Meiji is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of a wide variety of pharmaceutical products throughout Japan and some countries outside of Japan as well. The main areas of its interest are infectious diseases and CNS, and Meiji has strong capabilities and expertise in development and commercialization of antibiotic products. For more information on Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd., please visit the company's Web site at http://www.meiji.co.jp.
About Cerexa
Cerexa Inc. is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing a growing portfolio of novel anti-infective therapies for the treatment of serious, antibiotic-resistant infections. Cerexa's lead product candidate, Ceftaroline, has received Fast-Track designation from the FDA and will enter Phase 3 clinical trials before year-end. For more information, visit http://www.cerexa.com.
Contacts: Cerexa Inc. Noonan Russo Stan Abel David Schull (510) 747-3911 (858) 546-4810 seabel@cerexa.comdavid.schull@eurorscg.com
Cerexa Inc.CONTACT: Stan Abel of Cerexa Inc., +1-510-747-3911, seabel@cerexa.com; orDavid Schull of Noonan Russo, +1-858-546-4810, david.schull@eurorscg.com
