5 March 2015, Munich – Ascenion, the technology transfer partner of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), has negotiated a licence agreement providing US-based Spero Therapeutics with exclusive rights to develop and commercialize a series of novel anti-infective compounds discovered at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), a HZI branch.
The compounds provide a new approach to combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a frequent cause of serious hospital-acquired infections, even those strains that are highly drug-resistant. According to the WHO, the rise of bacterial resistance is becoming a public health emergency that urgently requires new therapeutic strategies. A key problem is that traditional antibiotics act by eliminating or inhibiting the growth of pathogens, which inevitably leads to the selection of resistant strains. The new HIPS compounds, however, have a different mode of action that is less prone to induce resistance. Data from in vitro and in vivo studies suggest that they interfere with Pseudomonas’ communication system, preventing the production of virulence factors and resulting in significantly prolonged survival in relevant model systems.
Under the terms of the agreement, HZI is entitled to milestone and royalty payments in line with project progress. In addition, Ascenion has acquired an equity stake in Spero Therapeutics. Potential returns from the future sale of equity will flow to the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research and eventually be made available for translational research projects of the originating institution.
Spero Therapeutics and HIPS have also agreed to collaborate on the early development of the HIPS compounds.
‘As a leader in the development of innovative anti-infectives, Spero Therapeutics is an ideal partner for this project’, says Dr Christian Stein, CEO of Ascenion. ‘Together, we were able to structure a deal that perfectly matches the partners’ goals. We all share the vision of translating new research findings into the development of drugs that help overcome bacterial resistance. The mix of equity with milestones and royalties keeps the entry barriers for commercial partners low, while securing a fair distribution of the returns from eventual commercial success,’ says Dr Christian Stein.
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About Ascenion
Ascenion GmbH is an IP asset management company with particular expertise in the life sciences. Ascenion advises and supports public research institutions with regard to the protection and exploitation of their intellectual property (patents, know-how, materials), and initiates and mediates license agreements between research institutions and industry. The company places particular emphasis on coaching company founders and on active equity management. Ascenion was founded in 2001 as a 100% subsidiary of the LifeScience Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Research and is exclusive technology transfer partner of 23 research institutes in the Helmholtz and Leibniz Associations, as well as of the Charité, the Hannover Medical School, the research institute TWINCORE and the Universität zu Lübeck. Ascenion currently markets around 750 technologies on behalf of these institutes, and closes an average of about 80 revenue-generating agreements between research and industry per year. The team has also coached numerous spin-offs through their foundation and early growth and Ascenion holds equity in 26 of these companies. Ascenion’s headquarters are in Munich, with further offices in Berlin, Braunschweig, Hamburg, Hanover and Neuherberg.
Further information at <link http: www.ascenion.de _blank external-link-new-window>www.ascenion.de
About HZI
Scientists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany, are engaged in the study of different mechanisms of infection and of the body’s response to infection. Helping to improve the scientific community’s understanding of a given bacterium’s or virus’ pathogenicity is key to developing effective new treatments and vaccines.
<link http: www.helmholtz-hzi.de external-link-new-window>www.helmholtz-hzi.de
About HIPS
The Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) is a branch of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig and was jointly founded in 2009 by the HZI and the University of the Saarland. The researchers are specifically searching for new drugs to fight infectious diseases, optimize them for human use, and conduct research into how they can best be delivered to their target destination in the body.
