Fimbrion and GSK to develop novel antibacterial therapy for UTIs

US biotech start-up Fimbrion Therapeutics has entered into collaboration with UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) to develop a small-molecule drug for the treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs).

The agreement, for which financial terms were not disclosed, creates a joint project between Fimbrion and the Discovery Partnerships with Academia (DPAc) team at GSK. The project is focused on the preclinical development of a class of mannose-containing small molecule compounds called mannosides. Mannosides may be able to treat and prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs) without inducing antibiotic resistance. Fimbrion founders Dr Scott Hultgren, a microbiologist and expert in UTIs, and Dr. James Janetka, a medicinal chemist, combined efforts in 2009 to rationally design new classes of orally-bioavailable mannosides

Options for treating bacterial infections, especially those caused by Gram-negative bacteria, are becoming increasingly limited due to the exponential increase in antibiotic resistance. Urinary tract infections are the third leading indication for antibiotic therapy and where multidrug-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly common.