HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, April 11, 2017 – Appili Therapeutics Inc.(“Appili”), an anti-infective drug development company, announced today that it will be receiving an additional $400,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), bringing IRAP support for this project to a total of up to $759,000. This funding supports the development of ATI-1503, an antibiotic targeting drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobactor baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These superbugs cause potentially deadly infections, including pneumonia and blood infections.
“Doctors are fast running out of treatment options and IRAP funding is an important part of our financial strategy for helping Appili develop a new antibiotic that can treat these deadly diseases,” said Kimberly Stephens, CFO of Appili Therapeutics.
ATI-1503 is a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring Negamycin antibiotic. Using IRAP funding, Appili’s expert drug development team will employ advanced X-ray crystallography to visualize the exact structure of ATI-1503 binding to the bacterial target. The crystal structure data is then used to systematically and precisely optimize the potency of ATI-1503 against these drug-resistant infections.
Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobactor baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are Gram-negative bacteria with two cellular walls, making it hard for antibiotics to penetrate. ATI-1503 holds promise for treating these superbugs because it penetrates the double exterior membranes and attacks the protein generating machinery of Gram-negative bacteria.
Additionally, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobactor baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa thrive in hospitals and residential care facilities, infecting already vulnerable patients. Because these bacteria are resistant to most antibiotics, they are among the priority pathogens for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization because they pose the highest threat to human health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States over two million cases of drug-resistant infections are reported annually and, with limited treatment options, hospitalization costs for these drug-resistant infections exceed $20 billion a year.
About Appili Therapeutics
Appili is dedicated to identifying, acquiring and advancing novel therapeutics for infectious disease. The company has two anti-infective programs, ATI-1501 and ATI-1503, in its pipeline. ATI-1501 is a taste-masked treatment for anaerobic infections, including C. difficile. Appili’s second product, ATI-1503, is a novel antibiotic with broad potential to treat drug-resistant Gram-negative infections. For more information visit www.AppiliTherapeutics.com.
