MTFB.L Share News (MTFB)

A wholly-owned subsidiary of antibiotic developer Motif Bio has signed letters of intent and interim agreements with a leading global clinical research organisation (CRO).Motif has agreed to invest more than $0.95m under the agreements, which must be paid by the end of July.Under the agreements, the CRO will prepare for two phase III trials that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Iclaprim, a drug in the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections that are suspected or confirmed to be due to a particular type of bacteria. Iclaprim is a broad-spectrum antibiotic designed to be effective against multi-drug resistant bacteria.A formal agreement will be agreed on how the two studies will be conducted.Motif Bio chief Graham Lumsden said: "Retaining this leading global CRO is the first major step for Motif in achieving our goal of successfully completing Phase III clinical trials with iclaprim."The safety and efficacy of this broad spectrum antibiotic has already been proven in many patients, and we believe that iclaprim may be an important treatment option for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections."Combining the knowledge and experience of Motif's management and directors with the infectious diseases expertise of our selected CRO is expected to add tremendous value for our investors."