Telum Therapeutics SL

Aiming to develop treatments for multidrug-resistant infections, Telum Therapeutics on Wednesday raised €18 million ($20.5 million) in a series A led by the AMR Action Fund. The funds will be used to move its lead antibiotic candidate through Phase I testing."Telum was founded with the vision of developing a new generation of antimicrobial therapies capable of combating some of the world’s most dangerous drug-resistant pathogens," said Chief Operating Officer Roberto Díez, adding that the round "reflects the strength of our scientific platform, the progress of our lead programme, and the growing recognition that innovative solutions are urgently needed to address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance."The financing also saw participation from new investor Inveready as well as existing backers Invivo Partners, CDTI with its SICC Innvierte, Clave Capital and Sodena.AI design processThe Spain-based startup's lead candidate is designed to target hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. It's also developing a pair of preclinical programmes: the first is aimed at prosthetic joint infections and cardiac implantable electronic device infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, and the second is directed against nosocomial infections caused by Enterococcus faecium.Rather than using naturally occurring bacteriophage lysins to combat infections, Telum's APEX platform combines metagenomic data, synthetic biology and machine learning to design and optimise new antimicrobial therapies.First, the company finds and decodes functional activity modules with inherent antimicrobial properties, then uses that knowledge to engineer phage lytic enzymes with improved potency, precision targeting and stability. With AI-informed protein engineering, Telum can combine enzymatic hydrolysis and substrate recognition domains to create tailor-made enzybiotics capable of eliminating multidrug-resistant bacteria, while also minimising the chance that resistance will develop. According to Telum, its synthetic phage lytic enzymes have enhanced antimicrobial activity and can kill bacterial pathogens externally.

Subhendu Basu, CEO of Telum Therapeutics, and Roberto Díez, founder and COO of Telum Therapeutics. Telum Therapeutics , a biotechnology company leveraging proprietary metagenomic datasets, synthetic biology and generative AI to develop novel antimicrobial therapies, today announced the successful completion of an €18 million Series A financing to advance its lead program targeting hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) caused by Acinetobacter baumannii . AMR Action Fund led the financing round, with participation from new investor Inveready and continued support from existing investors Invivo Partners , CDTI with its SICC Innvierte, Clave Capital and Sodena . The investment from AMR Action Fund, the world’s largest venture capital fund dedicated exclusively to investing in urgently needed antimicrobial therapeutics and diagnostics, brings not only capital, but also deep domain expertise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Fund’s support will enable Telum to advance its lead candidate through Phase 1 clinical development , generating critical safety and translational data to support subsequent stages of clinical evaluation. Telum’s lead program is designed to address severe infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii , a multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogen associated with significant morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients worldwide. Built on the Company’s proprietary APEX® platform, Telum is developing biologically derived, protein-based antimicrobial therapeutics with the potential to overcome key limitations of existing antibiotic approaches and expand treatment options for patients facing life-threatening infections. Dr. Henry Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of the AMR Action Fund, commented: “ Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most formidable bacterial threats in modern medicine. It is clinically challenging, often resistant to first-line therapies, and a pathogen for which progress has been slow and di\icult to achieve. We are encouraged by Telum’s novel approach and pleased to support the team as they work to bring forward a new treatment option for patients with life-threatening infections.” Dr. Subhendu Basu, Chief Executive Officer of Telum Therapeutics, said: “We are delighted to welcome AMR Action Fund and Inveready as new investors in Telum. AMR Action Fund’s dedicated focus and deep expertise in antimicrobial resistance, together with the continued support of Invivo Partners, Clave Capital, CDTI-Innvierte and Sodena, reinforces our confidence in the potential of the APEX® platform to generate a new class of antimicrobial therapies for di\icult-to-treat infections. This financing provides a clear path to complete Phase 1 development of our lead program targeting Acinetobacter baumannii HABP/VABP, while also enabling us to advance our broader pipeline addressing both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens.” Dr. Laura Rodríguez, Partner at Invivo and Board member at Telum, commented: “Having supported Telum since its earliest stages, we are delighted to welcome AMR Action Fund as lead investor in this financing. Their participation is a strong validation of the progress achieved by the Company, the quality of its science, and the commitment of the team to tackling antimicrobial resistance. We believe this round marks a defining milestone in Telum’s evolution, reinforcing its position within the global antimicrobial innovation ecosystem and equipping the Company with the resources, expertise and support needed to advance into the clinic.” Dr. Roberto Díez, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Telum Therapeutics, added: “Telum was founded with the vision of developing a new generation of antimicrobial therapies capable of combating some of the world’s most dangerous drug-resistant pathogens. This financing marks an important milestone for the Company and reflects the strength of our scientific platform, the progress of our lead program, and the growing recognition that innovative solutions are urgently needed to address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance.” This financing brings together international and Spanish life sciences investors, technology-focused investment funds and public institutions committed to supporting innovation in healthcare. It also highlights the important role of Navarra’s innovation ecosystem in fostering the development of science-driven companies with global ambition. Media Contact Telum Therapeutics Gemma Escarré Email: telum@gemmaescarre.com About Telum Therapeutics Telum Therapeutics is a biotechnology company based in Spain dedicated to developing innovative antimicrobial therapies for the treatment of severe multidrug- resistant bacterial infections. The Company’s proprietary APEX® platform enables the discovery and development of novel biologically derived, protein-based antimicrobial candidates targeting clinically important Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. Telum’s lead program is being developed for the treatment of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) caused by Acinetobacter baumannii .

A pioneering R&D project led by Telum Therapeutics, in collaboration with the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), has achieved a major scientific and technological milestone in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. Conducted under the competitive call Public-private partnership projects (CPP) CPP2021-009054 and titled Development of Enzybiotics to Combat Human Infections Caused by Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium [ANTI-VRE], the initiative focused on the discovery of next-generation antimicrobials targeting one of the World Health Organization’s top-priority pathogens. It was funded by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MCIN) and the European Union through the NextGeneration EU programme. The project successfully identified a new family of proteins with high activity against vancomycin-resistant E. faecium, exhibiting a previously undescribed mechanism of action. This breakthrough opens the door to radically new therapeutic strategies and was made possible thanks to APEXp®, Telum’s proprietary AI-driven synthetic biology platform designed to discover and engineer precision antimicrobials from anthropogenic microbiomes. Throughout the project, compounds were isolated, sequenced, and optimized using cutting-edge bioinformatics, protein engineering, and high-throughput analysis. Most notably, the lead candidates showed strong efficacy against biofilms and in in vivo models using clinical isolates of E. faecium resistant to vancomycin—demonstrating both their potency and real-world translational potential. At a time when new antimicrobial solutions are urgently needed, Telum’s approach offers a powerful alternative: non-antibiotic, resistance-breaking therapeutics with high specificity and scalability. Currently, no similar product exists on the market with this unique mechanism and efficacy profile. As a result of this success, Telum has submitted a new project focused on conducting the required regulatory studies and preparing a Clinical Trial Application (CTA). This next phase will be key to advancing the program towards clinical validation and strengthens Telum’s position as one of the most innovative biotech companies in the field of next-generation antimicrobials. (1) Desarrollo de enzibióticos para el tratamiento de infecciones humanas causadas por Enterococcus faecium resistente a vancomicina. El/la publicación/resultado/equipamiento/video/actividad/contrato/otros es parte del proyecto CPP2021-009054 – ANTI-VRE, financiado por MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea-NextGenerationEU/PRTR.