MicuRx Pharmaceuticals Announces Issuance Of U.S. Patent For Its Next-Generation Antibacterial Agent

HAYWARD, Calif., and SHANGHAI, May 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibiotics, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a composition of matter patent covering its clinical candidate, MRX-I. MRX-I is a novel antibacterial oxazolidinone that targets infections due to multi-drug resistant Gram-positive pathogens.

"This patent is expected to be the first of a series to issue," said Zhengyu Yuan, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of MicuRx. "With a scarcity of new antibiotics in development and ever-increasing bacterial resistance, we believe that MRX-I, with its high antimicrobial potency and enhanced safety profile, could offer a valuable option for treatment of infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-positive bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE)." 

"We are pleased that the USPTO has affirmed MicuRx's intellectual property rights by granting this key patent for our first antibiotic candidate," added Mike Gordeev, Ph.D, chief scientific officer and executive vice president of MicuRx.

Multi-Drug Resistance: A Growing Global Public Health Crisis

Modern antibiotics have substantially reduced the threat posed by infectious diseases and contributed to a dramatic drop in mortality rates over the past 40 years. However, pathogenic bacteria resistant to current therapies have evolved over the years and become ubiquitous. The World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and the Infectious Disease Society of America have identified multi-drug resistant bacteria as a major public health threat today and into the future. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 percent of U.S. hospital infections are resistant to at least one of commonly used antibiotics. In certain regions, the incidence of drug-resistant MRSA in hospital-acquired infections is recognized as a major health threat. MicuRx's agents directly address the escalating problem of multi-drug resistant bacteria, with a potential for deployment in both hospital and community-based settings. 

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 the high quality, low cost discovery, preclinical and development infrastructure in China, the company has built a pipeline of discovery and development programs for the treatment of Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungal infections. The company has research and development facilities outside San Francisco, CA in the United States and in Shanghai, China.  MicuRx has raised $12 million in Series A venture funds from Morningside Group (http://www.morningside.com/) and Devon Park Bioventures (http://www.dpbioventures.com/).

SOURCE MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.