Trius awarded $28M contract to develop novel antibiotics

San Diego, USA-based Trius Therapeutics has been awarded a $28.0 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the National Institutes of Health, for the development of novel antibiotics directed against multiple Gram-negative bacterial pathogens.

Under the five-year contract, Trius will develop novel drugs targeting bacterial DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, with the aim of optimizing these or activity against relevant biodefense pathogens such as Yersinia pestis, Francisella tularensis and Burkholderia pseudomallei. Trius will collaborate with investigators at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories to identify and optimize lead molecules and to test these compounds for activity against Gram-negative biodefense pathogens.

"We will focus our efforts to address the NIAID mission to develop new medical countermeasures against biological agents most likely to be used in a terror attack on civilian populations," said Jeffrey Stein, chief executive of Trius. "Trius offers a novel approach to develop effective new drugs to treat infections caused by such deadly pathogens," he added.