Entasis Therapeutics Inc. Joins Antimicrobials Working Group

WASHINGTON D.C., July 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG) announced today the addition of Entasis Therapeutics Inc. (Entasis) to its coalition of companies with the mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovations. Entasis utilizes a unique pathogen-targeted approach to develop a robust clinical and pre-clinical pipeline of potential first- and best-in-class medicines. Entasis’ pipeline includes small-molecule programs to treat serious multidrug-resistant Gram-negative infections, including Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacteriaceae, and a single dose oral therapy for susceptible and drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The new addition brings AWG’s membership to 18 antimicrobial drug and diagnostic device development companies.

“AWG looks forward to working with Entasis Therapeutics, the newest member of our coalition, to advance our mission to improve the regulatory, investment and commercial environment for antimicrobial drug and diagnostic device development,” said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cidara Therapeutics and Chairman of AWG. “Entasis is a leader in the fight against AMR, discovering and developing novel antibacterials to address the serious medical need posed by multi-drug resistant bacterial infections, helping to provide doctors and patients with the innovative infectious disease treatment options, and is a valuable addition to the group.”

“Entasis Therapeutics is proud to partner with the AWG in its efforts to improve the investment and commercial landscape for antimicrobials,” said Manos Perros, CEO of Entasis Therapeutics. “The response to the growing medical need of antimicrobial resistance requires a concerted effort to ensure that patients infected by drug-resistant pathogens have access to safe and effective targeted therapies. We look forward to contributing to the AWG’s important policy initiatives required to incentivize the development and facilitate the integration of such novel therapies into the commercial environment.”

All pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing new antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostic devices are eligible for consideration of membership in AWG. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member of AWG, please contact us here.

About Entasis Therapeutics Inc.
Entasis is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel antibacterial products to treat serious infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Entasis’ targeted-design platform has produced a pipeline of product candidates, including ETX2514SUL (targeting A. baumannii infections), ETX0282CPDP (targeting Enterobacteriaceae infections), and zoliflodacin (targeting Neisseria gonorrhoeae). Entasis is also using its platform to develop a novel class of non-β-lactam penicillin-binding protein inhibitors (NBPs) targeting Gram-negative infections.

For more information, visit www.entasistx.com

About The Antimicrobials Working Group
AWG was founded in 2012 with the vision of utilizing collective power to improve the regulatory, investment, and commercial environment for emerging infectious disease companies. Today, AWG is comprised of eighteen antimicrobials and diagnostics companies: Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, Aridis Pharmaceuticals, Arsanis Inc., Cidara Therapeutics Inc., ContraFect Corporation, Entasis Therapeutics Inc., Iterum Therapeutics Ltd., Melinta Therapeutics Inc., Motif Bio PLC, Nabriva Therapeutics US Inc., Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc., SCYNEXIS Inc., Spero Therapeutics, Inc., T2 Biosystems Inc., Theravance Biopharma U.S. Inc., Viamet, Vical Incorporated, and Zavante Therapeutics Inc.

For more information, visit: www.antimicrobialsworkinggroup.org

About The Conafay Group
The Conafay Group, led by Stephen R. Conafay, Principal, is a life-sciences government relations firm based in Washington D.C. that serves as Washington counsel and coalition manager for AWG.

For more information, visit: www.conafaygroup.com

Michael N. Dudley, Pharm.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer
Qpex Biopharma, Inc.

Dr. Dudley has over 30 years of experience in antiinfective drug research, development, and commercialization. In 2018, he co-founded Qpex Biopharma which raised $33M in Series A financing and acquired the preclinical infectious disease programs from The Medicines Company. He has overseen the development and regulatory approval of 3 antibiotics, most recently a beta-lactamase inhibitor combination product from a new chemical class (vaborbactam) discovered in the company laboratories. The antibiotic product Vabomere™ advanced from discovery to FDA approval in 2017 in less than 8 years. He lead the negotiation for multiple contracts from public-private partnerships (e.g., BARDA of the US Government; Innovative Medicines Initiative for the EU) for a combined total of over $190 million funding to advance antimicrobial agents in development in the US and Europe. Prior to co-founding Qpex, he was Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Rempex Pharmaceuticals that was acquired by the Medicines Company (MDCO) in 2013, where he remained as the co-leader of the Infectious Disease Business Unit of MDCO. Prior to Rempex, he held VP/SVP/CSO positions of increasing responsibility at the biotech companies Mpex Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Aptalis in 2011), Diversa Corporation, and Microcide Pharmaceuticals. Prior to his career in pharmaceutical industry, he held full-time academic appointments that included Professor of Pharmacy and Chairman of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy (URI), and Adjunct Professor of Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, RI. As an academic researcher, he conducted preclinical and clinical research in antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral agents, including pioneering work on PK-PD approaches for several classes of antiinfectives. Dr. Dudley has published over 130 scientific papers and book chapters describing the evaluation and clinical use of antiinfective agents and treatment of infectious diseases. He has served as an invited speaker at several FDA and EMA workshops, international meetings on infectious diseases, and advisor to several companies. He has served as an Editor for the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and numerous other editorial and advisory boards. He completed undergraduate work at Pepperdine University and his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), completed at residency at UCSF, and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Hartford Hospital.

René Russo, PharmD, BCPS

René Russo, PharmD, BCPS

Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., F.A.C.P.

Christine Ann Miller

Graham G. Lumsden

Marco Taglietti, M.D.

Ankit Mahadevia

Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D.

Evan Loh, M.D.

Michael Dunne, M.D

Ciara Kennedy, Ph.D.

Ted Schroeder

Kevin Finney

Manos Perros, Ph.D.

David Roblin

Stephen Conafay

Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D.

Michael N. Dudley, Pharm.D.

Ramani Varanasi

Corey Fishman

Felix Faupel

Adrian Nivoliez