Date: May 01, 2017 Author: Bradley J Fikes Source: San Diego Union Tribune (
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Forge Therapeutics, a developer of a new class of antibiotics, has raised $15 million in a Series A venture capital financing round. The money will advance its lead product into clinical development, said Zachary Zimmerman, CEO of the San Diego-based biotech company.
Forge's prospective antibiotic has broad-spectrum effectiveness against drug resistant gram-negative bacteria, an increasingly urgent matter of concern. Gram-negative bacteria include Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE; multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa; and drug-resistant Salmonella, both those that cause typhoid and which cause food poisoning.
The company's technology uses a mechanism of action not found in existing antibiotics, Zimmerman said. Forge has discovered small molecules that inhibit LpxC, a zinc-containing enzyme found only in gram-negative bacteria, and is necessary for their growth.
The program needs to further test the molecules before one can be chosen for a clinical trial and that trial authorized, Zimmerman said. The process should take "several years," he said.
Privately held Forge announced its investment last week. Last month, Forge had been awarded a grant of at least $8.8 million from CARB-X, a $450 million global public-private partnership that includes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Boston University and the California Life Sciences Institute.
CARB-X was formed to accelerate development of new antibiotics to replace those that losing effectiveness against antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
Just receiving the grant has already helped Forge, Zimmerman said. The money from CARB-X is "non-dilutive," meaning that Forge didn't have to give up any equity, which would have diluted the ownership of existing investors.
"What we didn't realize at the time was that we were going to be the largest award-winner," Zimmerman said. "That was a really pleasant surprise ... As soon as that announcement went out, I had hundreds of emails from people who were potentially interested in funding Forge in a Series A round. Of course, we were already engaged with a number of potential investors. The Series A came together very quickly."
Some potential investors that had been "on the sidelines" became much more interested after the CARB-X funding, he said.
"The round was not just oversubscribed, but we had a long list of people waiting to come in."
The round was led by MagnaSci Ventures, along with Evotec AG, Alexandria Venture Investments, MP Healthcare Venture Management, Red Apple Group, and WS Investments.
Forge says the investment syndicate is diversified, including firms experienced in life sciences (Alexandria Venture Investments, MagnaSci Ventures and Evotec AG), drug industry partners (MP Healthcare Venture Management), and one of America's largest privately owned conglomerates (Red Apple Group).
