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Summit Discovers Multiple New Mechanism Antibiotics Against Novel ESKAPE Pathogen Targets
Thu, 6 Sep 2018 12:00
Summit Therapeutics plc (donotreply-eu@globenewswire.com)
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Summit Discovers Multiple New Mechanism Antibiotics Against Novel ESKAPE Pathogen Targets
Summit Therapeutics plc
(‘Summit’ or the ’Company’)
Summit Discovers Multiple New Mechanism Antibiotics Against Novel ESKAPE Pathogen Targets
Discovery Enabled by Discuva Platform and Proprietary Bacterial Libraries
Oxford, UK, and Cambridge, MA, US, 6 September 2018 – Summit Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: SMMT, AIM: SUMM), a leader in new mechanism antibiotic innovation, announced today the discovery of multiple new mechanism antibiotics against novel ESKAPE pathogen targets. Commonly referred to as superbugs, the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp.) collectively comprise the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections globally. New classes of antibiotics are urgently needed to address these pathogens that are increasingly developing resistance to existing antibiotic drug classes.
“We believe we are building a very different antibiotics company that focuses on bringing innovation to an area of high unmet need. With new science, we believe the threat of ESKAPE pathogens and other serious infectious diseases can potentially be solved,” commented Mr Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of Summit. “At the core of our innovation is our powerful Discuva Platform. The platform allows us to uncover possible new ways to combat the potentially deadly ESKAPE pathogens. We can then aim to exploit this knowledge through the discovery and development of targeted new mechanism antibiotics.”
Summit’s Discuva Platform utilises proprietary libraries of mutant bacteria to identify genes which are essential for bacteria to survive. Summit’s libraries provide coverage across the ESKAPE pathogens. Through the Discuva Platform, Summit has identified essential ESKAPE pathogen genes, which could represent novel drug targets against these pathogens. Several of these targets are now the focus of Summit’s drug development programmes, with the platform having already discovered potential new mechanism antibiotics against them.
“We believe the identification of novel targets gives us the potential to develop the right drugs for the right bacteria, infection and patient. That would enable us to ensure that our antibiotics truly meet the needs of patients, their treating physicians and healthcare providers and to promote antibiotic stewardship,” added Dr David Roblin, President of R&D of Summit. “We believe this approach will afford us the opportunity to replace the current standards of care for these serious infections caused by the ESKAPE pathogens and bring potentially life-saving treatments to patients.”
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