Helperby Therapeutics announces phase 1 results demonstrating multiple benefits of its unique combination antibiotic therapy

Helperby Therapeutics presented data at European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) announcing Phase I results on tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and efficacy of AZT and colistin both alone and as a combined therapy, against multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a serious drug resistant pathogen.

Helperby also presented preclinical data which shows that AZT is active against carbapenem and colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae. AZT is a DNA chain terminator and represents a new class of antibacterial agent against the most resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Further data were presented showing the combination to be active in animal models.

The significance of these data is that the WHO Critical Priority Gram-negative Carbapenem Resistant bacterial pathogens will contribute to the 10 million deaths which are predicted worldwide by 2050 from treatment-resistant infections.

The combination provides antibiotic enhancement with a low dose of colistin, which is safe and tolerable in humans as demonstrated by the phase 1 results, and so avoids the risk of renal toxicity associated with colistin in higher doses. Helperby’s new class of ARB antibiotic therapy is one of only a handful of drug candidates that WHO has identified as in development to tackle the three WHO Critical Priority pathogens; carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), carbapenem-resistant acinetobacter (CRAB) and carbapenem-resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA).

“Our unique approach of combining antimicrobial resistance breakers such as azidothymidine with existing antibiotics has the potential to reach the market with a new class of effective antibiotic therapy in three to five years,” said Professor Coates, founder and CSO, Helperby Therapeutics.

Dennis Molnar, CEO, Helperby said, “It’s well established that combination therapies prevent the emergence of resistance, and Helperby’s combination technique has the potential to extend the life of last-resort antibiotics which are under huge threat from the accelerating emergence of antimicrobial resistance.”