News
January 23, 2024
Bioversys AG and Helmholtz Centre for infection research join forces to accelerate AMR research and development
Basel, Switzerland. January 23, 2024, 9am CET
BioVersys AG and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research join forces to accelerate AMR research and development
BioVersys AG, a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on research and development of novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant (“MDR”) bacteria, announced today that it has established a long-term research collaboration with the prestigious European institute, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and its site Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat with the currently available therapeutics becoming more and more obsolete due to AMR. In 2019, an estimated 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to bacterial AMR, with an estimated 4.95 million bacterial AMR associated deaths globally.[1]
As part of its continued commitment to develop new and innovative therapeutics for patients suffering with bacterial diseases, BioVersys has initiated a research collaboration with HZI-HIPS, Professor Rolf Müller and collaborators, with the aim of developing new generations of innovative AMR projects for addressing serious life-threatening infections caused by resistant bacteria.
Dr. Sergio Lociuro, Chief Scientific Officer of BioVersys: “It requires persistent commitment and collaboration with world leading experts to stay at the forefront of science. BioVersys has a track record of successful research and development of novel antibacterial programs and strong partnerships with leading academic institutions working on AMR. We are delighted to expand our network of partners to the HZI-HIPS. Together we strengthen our mutual capabilities to identify and develop new therapeutic agents for patients suffering from drug resistant bacterial infections.”
Prof. Rolf Müller, Managing Director of Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS): “Our aim is to tackle antimicrobial resistance by developing innovative anti-infectives for human use. To succeed in this endeavour, we need close interactions with partners from the pharmaceutical industry. In BioVersys, we have found a reliable and experienced partner that perfectly complements the expertise at HIPS. Our collaboration agreement paves the way for advancing our most promising approaches and drive development towards clinical application.”
Several projects, that will be in the focus of the collaboration between BioVersys and HIPS, are also addressed and funded by the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), where Rolf Müller coordinates the research area “Novel Antibiotics”. In November 2023, DZIF awarded 850,000 € in funding to the team of Rolf Müller and collaborators for one of these projects, dealing with the optimization of an advanced lead molecule aiming at the treatment of multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. The interaction with DZIF creates additional synergies, greatly benefiting the collaboration between BioVersys and HIPS. DZIF is a virtual center of over 500 scientists from 35 institutions and enables access to a national network of scientists and clinicians working in infection research, thus streamlining the research and development process for anti-infective compounds and strategies.
About HIPS:
The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) in Saarbrücken was founded jointly by the HZI and Saarland University in 2009. Scientists at HIPS develop and employ experimental and computational approaches to provide new active substances against infectious diseases, optimise them for use in humans and investigate how they can best be transported to their site of action in the human body. A special focus of the institute is on microbial natural products from soil bacteria and the human microbiota as well as innovative medicinal chemistry-driven approaches. www.helmholtz-hips.de
About HZI:
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and other locations in Germany study bacterial and viral infections and the body’s defense mechanisms. They have a profound expertise in natural product research and its exploitation as a valuable source for novel anti-infectives. As a member of the Helmholtz Association and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), the HZI conducts translational research to lay the foundations for the development of novel therapies and vaccines against infectious diseases. www.helmholtz-hzi.de
About DZIF:
At the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), more than 500 researchers from 35 institutions are jointly developing new approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. The goal of this nationwide collaboration between universities, hospitals and research institutions is to translate research results into clinical practice quickly and effectively. In this way, the DZIF paves the way for the development of new vaccines, diagnostics and drugs against infections. More information can be found at www.dzif.de.
About BioVersys
BioVersys AG is a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant (“MDR”) bacteria. Derived from the company’s two internal technology platforms (TRIC and Ansamycin Chemistry), candidates are designed and developed to overcome resistance mechanisms, block virulence production and directly affect the pathogenesis of harmful bacteria towards the identification of new treatment options in the antimicrobial and microbiome fields. This enables BioVersys to address the high unmet medical need for new treatments against life-threatening resistant bacterial infections and bacteria-exacerbated chronic inflammatory microbiome disorders. The company’s most advanced research and development programs address nosocomial infections of Acinetobacter baumannii (BV100, Phase 2), and tuberculosis (Alpibectir, Phase 2a, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and a consortium of the University of Lille, France). BioVersys is located in the biotech hub of Basel, Switzerland.
BioVersys contact
Sylvia Mundt, Executive Assistant to CEO, Tel. +41 61 633 22 50; Mail: IR@bioversys.com
Website: www.bioversys.com.
[1] Lancet, Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis, VOLUME 399, ISSUE 10325, P629-655, FEBRUARY 12, 2022