GangaGen Secures additional US$7.9 Million from CARB-X for Pre-clinical Development of Novel Klebicins Targeting Nosocomial Pneumonia caused by Multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae

BANGALORE, INDIA / SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 23 December 2024 - GangaGen announced today that it has secured the third instalment of its phased funding grant from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), the global initiative led by Boston University to support the development of antibacterial products aimed at diagnosing, preventing, and treating drug-resistant infections. The grant follows GangaGen's successful completion of Lead Optimization milestones within its ongoing CARB-X partnership for its "Klebicin program," which is designed to address infections caused by multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae. CARB-X has already committed $7.9 million to support the Pre-clinical development of GangaGen's Klebicin project. Contingent of meeting specific milestones and subject to availability of funds, further funding may be available to advance the Pre-clinical phase and demonstrate safety in human volunteers.

Tanjore S Balganesh, President of GangaGen Biotechnologies, said: "We are pleased to have met this major project milestone and delighted to receive further CARB-X funding that will enable us to take Klebicins all the way to clinics. Klebicins are protein antibacterials that specifically kill K. pneumoniae, a hard-to-treat pulmonary pathogen that is highly resistant to current antibiotics".

"This would be a big step forward for the company and we are extremely grateful to CARB-X for the continued partnership and support to develop klebicins for the treatment of pneumonia" added Vivek Daniel Paul, CSO of GangaGen Biotechnologies.

"In collaboration with CARB-X, we are committed in our efforts to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and investing in novel technologies to bring transformational solutions to address this global threat" said Suchad Chiaranussati, Board Member, GangaGen Biotechnologies.

K. pneumoniae presents a serious health challenge around the world and is of increasing concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where it can cause life-threatening infections such as pneumonia and neonatal sepsis. To address this unmet medical need, GangaGen is developing a new class of therapeutics called klebicins as precision agents to target K. pneumoniae. Klebicins' novel mechanism of action should enable specific killing of the target pathogen without impacting the microbiome.

Acknowledgement and disclaimer:

Research reported in this press release is supported by CARB-X. CARB-X's funding for this project is provided in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; under agreement number: 75A50122C00028, and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842), Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the UK Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) funded by the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders.

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