For only the second time since launching nearly two years ago, the AMR Action Fund has announced an investment in a fledgling biotech company as it tries to underwrite efforts to develop badly needed medicines for combating antibiotic resistance.
In its latest move, the fund is providing $7.5 million to BioVersys, which is developing an antibiotic to combat a type of bacteria that affects people with compromised immune systems and is increasingly responsible for infections in hospitalized patients. The drug, which is about to enter Phase 2 testing, is targeting hospital-acquired pneumonia, pneumonia associated with ventilators, and blood stream infections that originate from pneumonia.
“There is a very large need for such antibiotics,” said BioVersys chief executive officer Marc Gitzinger, who noted the investment is part of a larger, $32.6 million round of funding known as Series C. “In general, antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, but it’s also been incredibly difficult to get classic venture capital for companies working in this field. The AMR investment is reassuring.”
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