Biopharmaceutical company Locus Biosciences revealed on Tuesday that it entered into a contract with Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), a global non-profit, to fund up to USD12.5m of a USD14.8m programme to develop LBP-KP01, a CRISPR Cas3-enhanced bacteriophage (crPhage) product to target the bacterial pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae).

Locus Biosciences said that the initial target indication will be recurrent urinary tract infections (rUTIs) and it also intends to develop the product for infections of other body sites, such as lung infections (pneumonia), intra-abdominal infections (IAIs), and bacteremia.

The company added that the proposed K. pneumoniae product will be part of a range of products that include its existing crPhage cocktail targeting E. coli and products targeting two undisclosed pathogens that Locus is developing in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, designed to address serious infections irrespective of underlying drug-resistance within the species.

Under the CARB-X contract, Locus will be provided with and initial USD2.05m, then up to USD10.5m over three years to fund preclinical development of LBP-KP01 and Phase 1 clinical trials.

CARB-X is dedicated to supporting early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising threat of drug-resistant bacteria. Headquartered at Boston University School of Law, CARB-X is led by Boston University and funding is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the US Department of Health and Human Services; the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally; Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); the UK Department of Health and Social Care's Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF); the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) within the US Department of Health and Human Services.