WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc. (X-Biotix), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule antibiotic compounds targeting multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative pathogens, announced today pipeline and corporate progress updates. The company has successfully closed an extension to its Series A financing that will support building on having demonstrated in vivo efficacy, with further preclinical development of the company’s first-in-class programs, each of which represent a separate novel mechanism of action. X-Biotix also announced the appointment of industry veteran, Mike Bonney, to its advisory team.
“I am extremely pleased about securing additional funding for X-Biotix and I welcome Mr. Bonney, a luminary in the industry and an expert in the field, as a formal advisor to the team,” said Ramani Varanasi, President & CEO of X-Biotix Therapeutics. “The X-Biotix team has delivered on multiple development milestones, and the extension of Series A financing is a reflection of that progress. Access to additional capital, combined with Mike’s leadership and broad expertise in the antibiotics area will be invaluable as we advance our pipeline of novel antibiotics to address the critical public health need for new approaches to treat drug resistant pathogens.”
“Mike’s wealth of knowledge and experience regarding various aspects of antibiotics drug development and commercialization, as well as his insights into the investment environment for companies in this area will support X-Biotix in their mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovations,” stated Steve Isaacs, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “With over 35 years in the industry, Mike has worked with a wide range of companies and built successful enterprises, and is a highly sought-after advisor in our industry. We welcome him and are honored that he has joined the X-Biotix team.”
Mr. Bonney is the Executive Chair of the Board of Kaleido Biosciences, after having previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman. Prior to that, he was a Partner of Third Rock Ventures. Previously, Mr. Bonney served as Chief Executive Officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Merck & Co. in January 2015 for $9.5 billion. Prior to Cubist, he was Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Biogen. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bonney spent eleven years at Zeneca Pharmaceuticals in a range of commercial, operating and strategic roles. He chairs the Board of Directors of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Magenta Therapeutics and serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Sarepta Therapeutics and Syros Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Bonney will be joining the Board of Directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb upon closing of the Celgene acquisition. He received a B.A. in Economics from Bates College and chaired its Board of Trustees from 2012 to June 2019.
“I am very pleased to be joining X-Biotix as a formal advisor at a time when the company is translating its early data on first-in-class antibiotic leads into candidates that have the potential to advance into the clinic in the near-term,” said Mr. Bonney. “Ramani and the team have done an impressive job in both raising capital and deploying these funds to rapidly advance their pipeline of novel compounds that have the potential to address both broad and narrow spectrum opportunities, and I look forward to supporting their efforts to further build the company in view of the continued need for antibiotics with activity against bacteria that are resistant to many of the currently available antibiotics.”
About Gram-negative multi-drug-resistant infections
Gram-negative multi-drug-resistant infections represent a critical unmet public health need, with over 2 million drug resistant infections in the U.S. each year. A report by the World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, antibiotic resistance could cause 10 million deaths each year, surpassing the projected number of deaths due to cancer. The landscape for commercialization of novel antibacterial therapies is rapidly evolving, and there remains a large market opportunity for both broad and narrow spectrum agents that target novel pathways that avoid cross-resistance to existing antibiotics. There is a particularly acute need for agents that address multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens implicated in sepsis, hospital and ventilator acquired pneumonia (HAP and VAP), and other complicated hospital-acquired and community-based infections.
About X-Biotix Therapeutics, Inc.
X-Biotix is a discovery and development company, with a focus on delivering the next generation of antibiotics to combat multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is located in Waltham, MA. X-Biotix is advancing multiple first-in-class small molecule compounds, identified using a unique DNA-encoded library platform, against a wide range of bacterial targets in essential pathways, which are predicted to defeat known antibiotics resistance mechanisms. Co-founders of the company include distinguished faculty from Harvard Medical School, with expertise in biological mechanisms of cell envelope biosynthesis, antibiotic resistance and efflux. In July 2019, X-Biotix joined as a member of the Antimicrobials Working Group, a coalition of companies with the mission to combat drug resistant infections and spur life-saving innovation. For further information, please visit: http://www.x-biotixrx.com/