Our Growing Expertise in Antibiotics

Since 2014, we have been actively involved in the in-licensing and development of promising anti-infective compounds. With workforce with over 20 years of experience in the optimization of antimicrobial agents at Debiopharm, in-house expertise in the field, and ongoing partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organizations, we ensure the development of safe, well differentiated, and efficacious medicines combating AMR pathogens.

What is AMR?

Antibiotic-resistant infections are a major public health concern world-wide. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a leading cause of death and disability and represents a major threat to human health [1]. The economic burden of AMR is also significant in direct health care and lost productivity costs are attributable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. [2] The World Health Organization (WHO) is referencing the World Bank Group report estimates that AMR could result in US$ 1 trillion additional healthcare costs by 2050, and US$ 1 trillion to US$ 3.4 trillion gross domestic product (GDP) losses per year by 2030. [3]

1. Antimicrobial Resistance Collaborators. Lancet. 2022 2. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). 2013 3. Worldbank.org. 2017

Our One-Drug-for-One-Bug Approach

“If we develop treatments for all cancer types, we would gain an extended 5 years of life expectancy. When it comes to infections, we’ve gained 10 years of life expectancy with the development of antibiotics. Unfortunately, this enormous benefit has been taken for granted. Thinking that we had won the war against bacteria combined with the broken business model for antibiotic development has put our society at great health risk. In the next 30 years the number of deaths linked to AMR will become greater than cancer-related deaths. As an independent company we’re investing our resources today for a safer and better future.”

Thierry Mauvernay President of Debiopharm

Debiopharm is one of the few privately owned companies developing a novel class antibiotics to combat hard-to-treat infections, aligning to current resistance threats. Debiopharm antibiotics are FabI inhibitors, disrupting the bacterial fatty acid biosynthetic pathway and thus preventing bacterial growth. They are narrow spectrum agents with distinctive intestinal microbiota preservation properties. In our approach, we are tackling AMR while fulfilling all four WHO innovativeness criteria, presenting with novel mode of action, pathogen-specificity, microbiota sparring, and reduction of off-target AMR.

Targeting priority pathogens, we are also creating the potential for an improved microbiome-sparing profile, a significant issue for all antibiotics. Inappropriate use and overuse of antibiotics is a key AMR driver as antibiotic-induced dysbiosis expands and sustains AMR, increasing susceptibility to infection.

Through our unique partnership-based business model, we are advancing the development of these new antibiotics from an early stage through clinical development.