24 May 2018 - - San Diego, California-based biotechnology company Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTX), with Rutgers University, has been awarded a five-year, USD 5.5m partnership grant from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the company said.
The grant will fund the continued research and development of Cidara's Cloudbreak antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) platform to identify novel immunotherapy agents for the treatment and prevention of serious and life-threatening multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections in high-risk patient populations.
The Cloudbreak immunotherapy platform is a fundamentally new approach for the treatment of infectious disease that, in a single molecule, pairs potent antimicrobials with agents that redirect the immune system to destroy fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens.
The initial preclinical development activities covered by the grant will be conducted at the Public Health Research Institute of New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, located in Newark, New Jersey.
David S. Perlin, Ph.D., executive director and professor at PHRI, will lead the research phase of the grant and serves as principal investigator.
Cidara is focused on developing new anti-infectives.
The company is currently advancing its echinocandin antifungal, rezafungin acetate, formerly known as CD101 IV, through clinical trials.
Rezafungin has improved pharmacokinetics compared to existing echinocandins and the potential for expanded utility across patient settings. It is also developing ADCs for the treatment of multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a national research university and the state of New Jersey's public institution of higher education.
More than 69,000 students and 22,500 full- and part-time faculty and staff learn, work, and serve the public at Rutgers locations across New Jersey and around the world.
The mission of New Jersey Medical School is to educate students, physicians, and scientists to meet society's current and future healthcare needs through patient-centered education; pioneering research; innovative clinical, rehabilitative and preventive care; and collaborative community outreach.