Roche and Discuva extend antibiotic research partnership

Roche and antibiotics drug discovery and development company Discuva have announced an expansion of a research partnership dating back to February 2014.

Under the revised terms of the deal, the collaboration is to be extended until February 2018 and will see the companies working together to create new antibiotics to treat life-threatening infections caused by multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

The work utilises Discuva's proprietary SATIN technology platform, which has been developed to help identify compounds with the optimal profile to progress successfully to the next stage of development.

So far, the collaboration has resulted in multiple lead programmes targeting Gram-negative pathogenic bacteria responsible for antibiotic-resistant infections. The extension will allow Roche and Discuva to continue exploring these compounds to expedite their development into essential medicines.

Dr David Williams, chief executive officer of Discuva, said: "We are passionately committed to establishing a succession of novel antibiotics to meet the challenge that the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance represents."

European Medicines Agency data shows that at least 25,000 patients in the EU die each year from infections due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, highlighting the scale of the problem that needs to be addressed.

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