Acurx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACXP), announced results from its research, in collaboration with Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), for its lead oral antibiotic candidate, ibezapolstat, to treat patients with C. difficile Infection (CDI), at the ICDS Symposium in Bled, Slovenia.
The CDC has designated CDI as an urgent threat, highlighting the need for new antibiotics. Ibezapolstat is the first of a new class of DNA polymerase IIIC inhibitors under development by Acurx to treat bacterial infections and has been granted fast-track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with CDI.
Dr. Wiep Klaas Smits, Ph.D., associate professor at LUMC, commented, “Our findings with ibezapolstat regarding the structural biology of DNA pol IIIC inhibitors have important implications for the development of a new family of antibiotics to treat high priority, multi-drug resistant, gram-positive infections. “I believe that DNA replication is a promising but underexplored target, and this novel class of DNA pol IIIC inhibitors could be an important new tool to address the pandemic of antimicrobial resistance.”
In a statement, Robert J. DeLuccia, executive chairman of Acurx, said, “We are very pleased with the outcome of our collaboration with LUMC which has been exceptionally productive. This detailed demonstration of the mode of action of DNA pol IIIC inhibitors in general, and for ibezapolstat specifically, is critically important to support our scientific foundation and our regulatory filings as we advance into this late-stage of ibezapolstat’s development pathway toward commercialization.”
Acurx is preparing requests for regulatory guidance to initiate clinical trials in Europe, the UK, Japan, and Canada. The company aims to advance ibezapolstat into international Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of CDI.
