Mpex Pharmaceuticals said this week it has bagged $32 million in second-round financing to advance its first two product candidates through preclinical and early clinical development.
The round was led by SV Life Sciences, previously known as Schroder Ventures (SV) Life Sciences. Other investors include HBM BioVentures, HBM BioCapital, Aberdare Ventures, Adams Street Partners, States Investment Group, and Charitable Leadership Foundation.
The San Diego biotechnology company is developing molecules that inhibit bacteria’s ability to become resistant to antibiotics. The hope is that these compounds will significantly improve the action of existing antibiotics, some of which enjoy sales of more than $1 billion annually.
San Diego“By combining inhibitors of resistance with proven antibiotics, we believe Mpex is pursuing a very attractive strategy for developing new antibacterial agents with significant market potential,” said Mike Ross, a general partner with SV Life Sciences.
The new financing round adds significantly to the $3.7 million previously raised by Mpex.
Antibiotic resistance is an important public health issue. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are just some of the diseases that have become hard to treat with antibiotic drugs.
Mpex announced on August 1 that it had initiated another early-stage clinical trial for its lead drug candidate, a potential drug for cystic fibrosis.
The lungs of more than 70 percent of cystic fibrosis patients are colonized with bacteria highly resistant to available drugs. Mpex’s compound, called MP-601,205, prevents molecular pumps in bacterial membranes from expelling antibiotics and other substances toxic to bacteria.
The company hopes the drug will also prove effective for treating hospital-acquired pneumonias and some types of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.