Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections

A study on point-of-care testing has shown how Syphilis Health Check™ could help significantly improve syphilis screening rates among pregnant patients with limited access to prenatal care, bridging vital gaps between maternal health and STI screening services. STONE HARBOR, N.J., Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Diagnostics Direct LLC, a leading provider of diagnostic testing solutions, is pleased to share newly published posters that provide vital insights into the role of rapid testing in improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Findings from Dr. Irene Stafford's Preg-OUT program in Southeastern Texas underscore the urgent need for enhanced syphilis detection and treatment in emergency and maternal healthcare settings. A healthcare provider holds a Syphilis Health Check™ test, a rapid diagnostic tool designed for point-of-care syphilis detection.

EbsArgent targets urinary tract infections, with early indications of efficacy against many species of multidrug-resistant bacteria STOCKHOLM, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thioredoxin Systems AB (TXN Systems), a pharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class antibiotic for multidrug-resistant urinary tract infections, today announced the close of an approximate SEK 25 million (USD 2.4M) Series A financing round to support the development of EbsArgent™, the company's first-in-class bactericidal antibiotic for urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The round includes substantial investments from prominent life sciences entrepreneurs and investors Mikael Lönn, MD and Jens Mogensen, alongside GU Ventures, Vasa Angels, and the state-owned venture capital firm Annexstruktur - as well as from Gobia Enterprises, a family-owned investment firm focusing on life sciences. "There hasn't been a new class of antibiotics developed since 1987, and I'm incredibly excited about the potential of EbsArgent. With its novel mechanism of action on a new target, and extensive testing that has demonstrated its effectiveness against a wide range of drug-resistant pathogens, EbsArgent could give us a valuable new weapon in the fight against antibiotic resistance," Lönn said. "TXN Systems' world-class science is backed by a proven strong team, and we look forward to supporting the company as it advances EbsArgent into the clinic." A study published in the journal The Lancet in September 2024 estimates the world could see more than 39 million deaths directly caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) from 2025 to 2050. More than 2.8 million bacterial infections occur in the U.S. each year, and 35,000 people die because of them, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country's public health agency. Europe sees similar numbers, with about 35,000 AMR-related deaths occurring annually, according to the European Commission. AMR happens when pathogens evade the medicines intended to kill them. TXN Systems will use proceeds from the Series A to complete preclinical studies of its patented EbsArgent and initiate Phase I clinical trials of the therapeutic in UTIs. Multidrug-resistant UTIs have become a pressing problem for the medical community, and managing urological procedures in hospitals is emerging as a growing challenge due to antibiotic resistance. Almost a quarter of all infections are UTIs, and studies have shown that approximately 9 percent of all urological inpatients develop complicated UTIs during their hospital stay. "Urinary tract infections, once easily cured, are becoming more and more resistant to multiple antibiotics and some standard treatments no longer work," said TXN Systems CEO Elias Arnér, MD, PhD. "However, the burden of antimicrobial resistance across healthcare will be of unprecedented levels, in all geographic regions. We have evaluated EbsArgent against a wide range of clinically derived bacterial strains of many different species, each with pronounced resistance against most, or all, of the currently available antibiotics. EbsArgent shows strong efficacy against all of them. We're extremely pleased to attract such high-caliber investors, and grateful for the confidence they have in our novel technology. We look forward to working with them to advance EbsArgent." EbsArgent is a combination drug containing silver ions and the compound ebselen to achieve a novel mechanism of action. By utilizing ebselen to disable the essential bacterial thioredoxin enzyme system and leveraging silver ions to synergistically enhance ebselen uptake, EbsArgent achieves a high level of bactericidal activity. Several studies have validated the bacterial thioredoxin reductase enzyme as a novel target for antimicrobial therapeutic development. No occurrence of cross-resistance with other antibiotics has been observed, likely because the thioredoxin system is not targeted by commercially available antibiotics and ebselen is a novel type of molecule compared to other antibiotics. In mouse models, EbsArgent has demonstrated safety, low toxicity, and good efficacy in multidrug-resistant gram-negative infections and multidrug-resistant urinary tract infections specifically. It also shows promising activity against the formation of biofilms with many bacterial strains, including E. coli, which is preferable because bacteria grown as biofilm make complicated UTIs more difficult to treat. About Thioredoxin Systems AB Thioredoxin Systems AB (TXN Systems) is a private pharmaceutical company developing a first-in-class antibiotic to treat multidrug-resistant urinary tract infections. The company's patented EbsArgent™, a combination drug containing silver ions and the compound ebselen, has a novel mechanism of action that uses ebselen to disable the essential bacterial thioredoxin enzyme system and silver ions to synergistically enhance ebselen uptake, to fight bacterial infections in new ways and without triggering resistance. TXN Systems aims to combat the growing global health threat of antimicrobial resistance that world health authorities predict could directly cause about 35 million deaths worldwide by 2050. The company was founded by the late Professor Arne Holmgren, a leading expert in redox biology, whose groundbreaking work led to the discovery and development of EbsArgent. TXN Systems is based in Solna, Sweden and funded by leading venture capitalists and private life sciences investors. For more information please visit . CONTACTS For Thioredoxin Systems AB Elias Arnér [email protected] For Media Susan Thomas Endpoint Communications +1-619-540-9195 [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision The following files are available for download: WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

Publication describes the structure of phage Pa193, a top candidate for inclusion into Armata's multi-phage anti-Pseudomonas clinical products LOS ANGELES, Oct. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: ARMP) ("Armata" or the "Company"), a biotechnology company focused on the development of high-purity, pathogen-specific bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, today announced a paper in Communications Biology, published by Nature Portfolio. The publication, titled, "Cryo-EM analysis of Pseudomonas phage Pa193 structural components," describes the structure of phage Pa193. Pa193 is representative of a family of phages present in Armata's multi-phage clinical candidate, AP-PA02, which the company is developing to treat chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB). "We are very pleased to simultaneously advance the fundamental understanding of phage structure while remaining laser focused on phage function in full clinical development. One of our phage clinical candidates contributed to the important learnings from this study," stated Dr. Deborah Birx, Chief Executive Officer of Armata. "As we continue to advance our proprietary development programs, which are founded on uncompromising science and rigorously designed clinical trials, this study furthers our understanding of phage structural components and how changes in phage biology may expand their clinical utility to other dangerous pathogens beyond P. aeruginosa, potentially informing future development plans." Dr. Gino Cingolani, Anderson Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education, Research & Patient Care and Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, and co-author of the paper, stated, "This research highlights our ability to decipher a whole virus at the single atom resolution. Leveraging cryogenic electron microscopy, proteomics and bioinformatic analysis, we are now able to take a complete inventory of all structural components of a large macromolecular assembly, such as Pa193. The opportunities are endless. From a basic-science standpoint, understanding both the architecture and design principles of Pa193 provides valuable insight into its stability and mechanisms of genome-delivery. These findings can be generalized to other members of the Pa193 phage family and aid in structure prediction and protein engineering, valuable to using phages as biomedicines for therapeutic applications." The full publication can be found here: About Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Armata is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of pathogen-specific bacteriophage therapeutics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections using its proprietary bacteriophage-based technology. Armata is developing and advancing a broad pipeline of natural and synthetic phage candidates, including clinical candidates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and other pathogens. Armata is committed to advancing phage therapy with drug development expertise that spans bench to clinic including in-house phage specific cGMP manufacturing. Forward Looking Statements This communication contains "forward-looking" statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to future events, results or to Armata's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause Armata's actual results, performance or events to be materially different from any future results, performance or events expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify these statements by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect management's beliefs and views with respect to future events and are based on estimates and assumptions as of the date of this communication and are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks related to Armata's development of bacteriophage-based therapies; ability to staff and maintain its production facilities under fully compliant current Good Manufacturing Practices; ability to meet anticipated milestones in the development and testing of the relevant product; ability to be a leader in the development of phage-based therapeutics; ability to achieve its vision, including improvements through engineering and success of clinical trials; ability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development of, and obtain regulatory approval of its product candidates and commercialize any approved products on its expected timeframes or at all; and Armata's estimates regarding anticipated operating losses, capital requirements and needs for additional funds. Additional risks and uncertainties relating to Armata and its business can be found under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Armata's filings and reports with the SEC, including in Armata's Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 21, 2024, and in its subsequent filings with the SEC. Armata expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Armata's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based. Media Contacts: At Armata: Pierre Kyme Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. [email protected] 310-665-2928 x234 Investor Relations: Joyce Allaire LifeSci Advisors, LLC [email protected] 212-915-2569 SOURCE Armata Pharmaceuticals, Inc. WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED