SuperTrans Medical supported by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) in developing its lead antibiotic against urgent threat drug resistant bacteria

SYDNEY, Sept. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SuperTrans Medical ("STM"), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibiotics that target difficult-to-treat, multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, has announced that the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) will be supporting additional development efforts of its lead clinical candidate, STM-001.

STM-001 (vancomycin-arginine) is a highly unique, precision antimicrobial therapeutic that effectively penetrates urgent-threat bacterial pathogens and destroys them. The drug is being developed to combat E. coli-associated cUTIs (complicated Urinary Tract Infections), including those driven by antibiotic resistant strains, and is set to enter a Phase 1 clinical trial in Australia during H1, 2022.

The support from the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) within the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will serve to further strengthen existing pre-clinical efficacy data, whereby low dose therapy with STM-001 eradicated bacterial burden caused by a fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli strain in a validated animal model of cUTI.

The NIH-supported efforts will aim to demonstrate the capability of STM-001 to tackle a cUTI driven by the New Delhi Metallo (NDM-1) beta-lactamase E. coli superbug which is non-responsive to most antibiotics including carbapenems. Such multi-drug resistant bacteria have been identified by the WHO and CDC as urgent-threat pathogens with a significant lack of effective antibiotics, both in the clinic and in various phases of development.

"This support by the NIAID is further testament to SuperTrans Medical's Intelligent RepurposingTM strategy, whereby commonly used antibiotics can be retargeted to generate highly meaningful therapeutics that can combat urgent threat pathogens," said Dr. Lewis F. Neville, CEO of SuperTrans Medical.

Dr Neville continued, "cUTIs represent the largest antibiotic unmet need. Combating antibiotic-resistant cUTIs globally currently requires high dose and frequent intra-venous (IV) regimens which incur significant hospital-related costs. STM-001 offers significant promise to tackle such infections whilst allowing the patients to be swiftly discharged from hospitals with continued treatment via out-patient units or community-based, clinical settings. Importantly, STM-001 would likely expedite infectious disease specialists and urologists to practice prudent Antimicrobial stewardship."

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About SuperTrans Medical

SuperTrans Medical Limited (STM) is a global biopharmaceutical company developing novel antibiotics that target difficult-to-treat, multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, also known as superbugs. This global health threat is directly addressed by STM through our core competency to revitalise and broaden the spectrum of existing FDA-approved drugs through our unique Intelligent Repurposing™ approach, thereby enabling the targeting of urgent threat pathogens.

STM is committed to an expedited development program and a likely shorter path to the clinic. The Company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with a biotech R&D hub in Ness Ziona, Israel. Besides, STM-001, the company has 3 additional candidates in pre-clinical development covering bacterial infectious diseases and drug-resistant cancer.

You can find out more about STM here: https://www.supertrans-medical.com