VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals Joins Antimicrobials Working Group

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG) announced today the addition of VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to its coalition of companies with the mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovations. This new addition brings AWG's membership to 15 antimicrobial drug companies.

VenatoRx is a world leader in antibacterial and antiviral drug research and development. The Company's lead product, VNRX-5133, is an injectable broad-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) that features uniquely potent and selective activity against both serine- and metallo-beta lactamases. VenatoRx believes that VNRX-5133, in a fixed combination with the fourth generation cephalosporin, cefepime, has the potential to provide a best-in-class broad-spectrum treatment option for infections due to carbapenem resistant pathogens including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA), bioterror pathogens such as Burkholderia spp. and Salmonella spp. engineerable with serine- and metallo-beta-lactamases, and suspected polymicrobial infections caused by both gram-negative and gram-positive pathogens.

"VenatoRx's dedication to the discovery and development of new medicines to treat drug resistant infections has been recognized with funding awards from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Wellcome Trust, CARB-X, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as well as private equity investments from Versant Ventures, Abingworth, and Foresite Capital," said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cidara Therapeutics and Chairman of AWG. "We are happy to have VenatoRx join AWG and believe their commitment to solving the global health problems created by the spread of drug resistant infections will be a great benefit to our coalition's efforts to improve the landscape for emerging infectious disease companies."

"The antibiotics industry is experiencing significant commercial and reimbursement headwinds that are collectively driving down valuations and discouraging big pharmaceutical companies from investing in the sector," said Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D., Founder, President and CEO of VenatoRx. "It's critical to have an organization like AWG that can assemble a coalition of companies in the space in order to communicate like-minded goals: the improvement of the overall environment for antimicrobial drug and diagnostic development in order to provide physicians and their patients best-in-class, innovative infectious disease treatment options. We look forward to partnering with AWG and its member companies to affect change and facilitate a win-win environment for all stakeholders in the fight against resistant bacteria."

All pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing new antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostic devices are eligible for consideration of membership in AWG. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member of AWG, please contact us here.

About VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

VenatoRx is a private pharmaceutical company that is focused on the discovery and development of novel anti-infectives to treat multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections and hard-to-treat viral infections. VenatoRx's lead product, VNRX-5133, is an injectable broad-spectrum beta-lactamase inhibitor (BLI) that directly inhibits all four Ambler classes of beta-lactamases. In addition, VenatoRx has a broad pipeline of preclinical programs, including a broad-spectrum orally bioavailable BLI, a novel class of Penicillin-Binding Protein (PBP) inhibitors that are impervious to beta-lactamase-driven resistance, and novel antiviral agents.

For more information, please visit www.venatorx.com.

About The Antimicrobials Working Group

AWG was founded in 2012 with the vision of utilizing collective power to improve the regulatory, investment, and commercial environment for emerging infectious disease companies. Today, AWG is comprised of fifteen antimicrobials companies: Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Cidara Therapeutics Inc., ContraFect Corporation, Entasis Therapeutics Inc., Iterum Therapeutics Ltd., Melinta Therapeutics Inc., Motif Bio PLC, Nabriva Therapeutics US Inc., Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., Qpex Biopharma, Inc., SCYNEXIS Inc., Spero Therapeutics, Inc., Summit Therapeutics plc, and VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

For more information, visit: www.antimicrobialsworkinggroup.org

About The Conafay Group

The Conafay Group, led by Stephen R. Conafay, Principal, is a life-sciences government relations firm based in Washington D.C. that serves as Washington counsel and coalition manager for AWG.

For more information, visit: www.conafaygroup.com

SOURCE Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG)

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http://www.antimicrobialsworkinggroup.org