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A compound investigated by the US Army Research Office and Evolva Holding in a mission to address biowarfare threats, has shown promise as a novel antibiotic.
EV-035, one of the compounds identified as part of the Transformational Medical Technology Initiative’s mission, has shown good activity in preclinical models against a range of select agents and other bacterial pathogens.
During 2012, data on EV-035 will be presented at various scientific congresses, commencing with the 2012 ASM Biodefense and Emerging Diseases Research Meeting, taking place 26–29 February in Washington, DC, USA.
Evolva has been working with ARO since 2008 and the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) since September 2006.
Evolva’s work for ARO focused on finding molecules that inhibit the growth of the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei.
Neil Goldsmith, CEO of Evolva commented, “It has been a great experience working with DTRA and ARO. We are proud of our contribution to the efforts to build up the defenses and responses against potential biological threats.”
EV-035 is a bacterial type II topoisomerase inhibitor, belonging to the chemical class of 2-pyridones. EV-035 shows potent broad-spectrum activity, including pathogens such as: Burkholderia pseudomallei, Burkholderia mallei, Yersinia pestis, Bacillus anthracis, Francisella tularensis, Coxiella burnetti and Brucella abortus.
Superior activity over reference antibiotics was observed in vitro and in mammalian intracellular infection models.
Moreover, EV-035 retains activity on multidrug-resistant strains including pathogens resistant to quinolones and other topoisomerase inhibitors.
Early in vivo work indicates an efficacy comparable or better than gold standard drugs against both Gram+ and Gram- strains, including E. coli and MRSA as well as other multidrug-resistant pathogens.
The compound has good oral bioavailability and exhibits a favourable safety profile.
Data generated to date indicate that EV-035 is an excellent candidate for further characterisation and promotion as a broad-spectrum biodefense agent.
Apart from the potential defense use, Evolva owns all rights to EV-035 and has patent applications covering this portfolio.
