14 Mar 2019 11:00
Summit Highlights Use of Discuva Platform in Identifying New Mechanism Antibiotics against Neisseria Gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE Pathogens at Novel Antimicrobials and AMR Diagnostics 2019 Conference
Summit Therapeutics plc (‘Summit’ or the ’Company’)
Summit Highlights Use of Discuva Platform in Identifying New Mechanism Antibiotics against Neisseria Gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE Pathogens at Novel Antimicrobials and AMR Diagnostics 2019 Conference
N. Gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE Pathogens Identified as High Priority by the US CDC and the WHOOxford, UK, and Cambridge, MA, US, 14 March 2019 – Summit Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: SMMT, AIM: SUMM), a leader in new mechanism antibiotic innovation, today announces two presentations highlighting the potential of the Company’s Discuva Platform to identify new mechanism antibiotics for serious infectious diseases. The presentations are being made at Novel Antimicrobials and AMR Diagnostics 2019, which is being held in Berlin, Germany, 14-15 March. Several programmes of new mechanism antibiotics have emerged from the Discuva Platform, including one targeting gonorrhoea and another targeting ESKAPE pathogens, both of which are being discussed at the conference.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have listed Neisseria gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp.) as high priority targets which urgently need new antibiotics due to increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance (‘AMR’). New mechanism antibiotics are an important component of the global fight against AMR.
“AMR is a worldwide problem. We need to see scientific innovation to prevent an era of untreatable infections,” said Dr David Roblin, President of R&D of Summit. “Through the Discuva Platform, we are using novel science to create targeted, new mechanism antibiotics that are optimised against resistance development. Our goal is to develop the most appropriate drug for a specific patient, thereby improving patient outcomes and giving physicians options to address the spread of AMR.”
The presentations cover the discovery and early development of new mechanism antibiotics enabled by the Discuva Platform within Summit’s gonorrhoea and ESKAPE programmes. These programmes exemplify the Platform’s ability to identify new antibiotics against new targets, uncover mechanisms of action and optimise screened compounds against potential resistance liabilities. Each of the Platform’s capabilities rely on Summit’s proprietary bacterial libraries, which allow exquisite genome-wide control of bacterial gene expression via engineered transposons.
Details of the Company’s lead ESKAPE programme and further research on SMT-571, the Company’s lead gonorrhoea candidate, will be presented at upcoming medical meetings.
About Summit Therapeutics Summit Therapeutics is a leader in antibiotic innovation. Our new mechanism antibiotics are designed to become the new standards of care for the benefit of patients and create value for payors and healthcare providers. We are currently developing new mechanism antibiotics for infections caused by C. difficile, N. gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE pathogens and are using our proprietary Discuva Platform to expand our pipeline. For more information, visit www.summitplc.com and follow us on Twitter @summitplc.
Contacts
| Summit | ||
| Glyn Edwards / Richard Pye (UK office) | Tel: | 44 (0)1235 443 951 |
| Michelle Avery (US office) | +1 617 225 4455 | |
| Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Adviser) | Tel: | +44 (0)20 7213 0880 |
| Liam Murray / Tony Rawlinson | ||
| N+1 Singer (Joint Broker) | Tel: | +44 (0)20 7496 3000 |
| Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer, Corporate FinanceTom Salvesen, Corporate Broking | ||
| Bryan Garnier & Co Limited (Joint Broker) | Tel: | +44 (0)20 7332 2500 |
| Phil Walker / Dominic Wilson | ||
| MSL Group (US) | Tel: | +1 781 684 6557 |
| Jon Siegal | summit@mslgroup.com | |
| Consilium Strategic Communications (UK) | Tel: | +44 (0)20 3709 5700 |
| Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart / Jessica Hodgson / | summit@consilium-comms.com | |
| Lindsey Neville |
Summit Forward-looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about the Company’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including but not limited to, statements about the clinical and preclinical development of the Company’s product candidates, the therapeutic potential of the Company’s product candidates, the potential commercialisation of the Company’s product candidates, the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources, the timing of initiation, completion and availability of data from clinical trials, the potential submission of applications for marketing approvals and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "would," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing and future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether preliminary results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of that trial or whether results of early clinical trials or preclinical studies will be indicative of the results of later clinical trials, expectations for regulatory approvals, laws and regulations affecting government contracts and funding awards, availability of funding sufficient for the Company’s foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended 31 January 2018. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release.
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