Qpex Biopharma Joins Antimicrobials Working Group

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — The Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG) announced today the addition of Qpex Biopharma, Inc. (Qpex) to its coalition of companies with the mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovations. Qpex is developing a pipeline of agents addressing critical needs for the treatment of infectious diseases in the inpatient and outpatient settings. The company has an established research and development (R&D) partnership with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) that provides the potential to support the development of a portfolio of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant, gram-negative infections.

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

“Qpex Biopharma has a strong pipeline of drug candidates and a management team with a record of success in the discovery, development and regulatory approval of anti-infective medicines to help address the worldwide problem of antimicrobial resistance,” said Jeffrey Stein, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Cidara Therapeutics and Chairman of AWG. “Qpex is an excellent example of an early stage biotech company leading the charge of R&D to fill the future pipeline of anti-infectives, and we believe Qpex’s experience will be a great benefit to our coalition’s efforts to improve the landscape for emerging infectious disease companies.”

“Small biotechnology companies like Qpex have been the engine for the discovery, development, and regulatory approval of new treatments for infectious diseases,” said Michael Dudley, PharmD, president and chief executive officer of Qpex Biopharma. “We are partnering with AWG and our industry peers to advance initiatives to overcome the economic challenges facing innovative and commercially-emergent companies that are critical for ensuring future availability of life-saving therapies to patients and providers.”

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 Qpex BioPharma, Inc.

Qpex Biopharma is developing a pipeline of agents addressing critical needs for the treatment of infectious diseases in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Qpex management has a record of deep expertise in the discovery, development and regulatory approval of anti-infective medicines, including an extensive record of working with public/private partnerships focused on new antibiotics to combat antimicrobial resistance.

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., Qpex Biopharma, Inc., SCYNEXIS Inc., Spero Therapeutics, Inc., Summit Therapeutics plc, T2 Biosystems Inc., Theravance Biopharma U.S. Inc. and Vical Incorporated.

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

SOURCE Antimicrobials Working Group (AWG)

Related Links

https://f839307073.nxcli.net

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.

Related Links

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