ANTABIO raises €25 million for phase 2 next-gen antibacterial study
Antabio SAS, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for severe drug-resistant bacterial infections, has raised €25 million in a Series B financing round, which will enable the company to complete the phase 2 clinical studies of MEM-ANT3310, a next generation antibacterial.
Funding came from the AMR Action Fund, the EIC Fund and from the company’s historical investors including BNP Paribas Développement, Relyens Innovation Santé / Turenne Capital, IRDI Capital Investment and Christophe Ricard, the former President of OM Pharma. This financing expands on the prestigious historical support received by the company through past multi-million-dollar awards from the Wellcome Trust, CARB-X, and ARPEGE.
This Series B will enable the company to complete the phase 2 clinical studies of MEM-ANT3310, a next generation antibacterial combination designed to provide a unique coverage of priority Gram-negative pathogens including OXA-carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB), KPC- and OXA- carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA).
MEM-ANT3310 combines the well-known carbapenem meropenem (MEM) with ANT3310, a breakthrough serine-beta-lactamase (SBL) inhibitor developed by Antabio. ANT3310’s innovative structure completely inhibits Class A, Class C and Class D beta-lactamase enzymes and, in combination with MEM, represents a truly differentiated alternative to treat life-threatening infections due to drug-resistant Gram-negative
pathogens, including Hospital-Acquired and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (HAP/VAP).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health crisis that was associated with nearly 5 million deaths in 2019 and is recognized as a top priority by the World Health Organization. It is estimated that 5-10% of hospital patients in US and Europe develop a hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infection. According to recent estimates, AMR now causes more deaths than HIV/AIDS or malaria, and it is predicted to kill more than 10 million people every year by 2050 (more than cancer today).
“We are thrilled to welcome the AMR Action Fund and the EIC Fund to Antabio, and grateful to our historical investors for their continued support” said Marc Lemonnier, CEO and founder of Antabio. “Raising such significant funding in historically challenging times for the sector is an outstanding achievement and a testament to our vision, team, and pipeline of innovative products that could offer a lifeline to patients around the world.”
Henry Skinner, AMR Action Fund CEO, commented: “Antabio is targeting drug-resistant pathogens that have devastating effects on patients and their families. We believe the therapies in Antabio’s pipeline will deliver significant benefits to patients and be an important tool for physicians, who are struggling to treat infections for which there are few effective treatments available. Antimicrobial resistance harms patients everywhere, and it is essential that academia, entrepreneurs, industry, governments, and intergovernmental organizations work together at the global level to incentivize solutions to the AMR crisis.”
Svetoslava Georgieva, chair of the EIC Fund Board, said: “The EIC Fund aims at backing European innovators in scaling their journey and Antabio is a great example of how the European Union is helping top innovators. The EIC Fund’s ambitious commitment, alongside other investors, is an important step to boost their efforts to find novel treatments for severe drug-resistant bacterial infection.”
