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 If approved, Amplyx's lead drug fosmanogepix would be the first new
class of antifungal treatments in 20 years. Terms of the deal were
not disclosed.
Fungi, like bacteria, can develop the ability to defeat the drugs
designed to kill them.
Drug-resistant fungi are a growing problem for hospitalized patients
with weak immune systems. Currently, there are only three classes of
antifungal treatments for such patients, and resistance to these
drugs is growing.
While Pfizer has been in the news in recent months for its COVID-19
vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech SE, the New
York-based drugmaker has quietly been building its portfolio of
treatments to combat the slower-moving threat of drug-resistant
superbugs, which are on track to kill 10 million people a year by
2050.
The pipeline for such drugs has been drying up due to the high cost
of research and low profit margins. But pathogens are continuing to
develop resistance to existing treatments, raising the specter of
untreatable infections that could spread rapidly.
"COVID-19 has shown the world what untreated infectious diseases
look like," Pol Vandenbroucke, chief medical officer of Pfizer's
hospital business unit, said in a phone interview.
Last July, Pfizer contributed $100 million to a $1 billion
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Action Fund to bolster struggling
makers of new antimicrobial agents and sustain a pipeline for new
treatments. The group aims to bring two to four new antibiotics to
patients by 2030.
Last October, Pfizer closed a deal with Arixa Pharmaceuticals, a
company making a next-generation oral antibiotic that, if approved,
would be one of the first new drugs of its kind in 35 years.
Public health officials have urged programs to conserve the use of
these treatments for only when absolutely necessary in order to help
prevent the emergence of drug-resistant bugs.
But these conservation strategies offer little incentive for drug
companies to invest without hope of recouping those costs.
[to top of second column] |
 Kevin Outterson of Boston
University runs Combating Antibiotic Resistant
Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X),
a global program focused on supporting
developers of promising new antibiotics,
diagnostics, and vaccines that tackle the threat
of untreatable bacterial infections.
He compared the difficult antibiotics business
model with that of vaccines.
"With vaccines, you want to stick it in as many
arms as possible. With a new antibiotic, you
kind of want to do the opposite, which is why
it's hard to make a buck," he said.
Outterson views the latest industry investments
as last-ditch efforts to buy time for small
companies to stay in business until countries
adopt more sustainable payment models.
In the United States, the bi-partisan PASTEUR
Act aims to change the way the government pays
for antimicrobial treatments, pricing them based
on their value to public health rather than
units sold.
In the UK, Pfizer is part of a new subscription
payment model that pays drug companies upfront
for access to medicines based on their
usefulness.
Outterson likens such schemes to a fire
extinguisher, something you buy and hope you
never need.
Pfizer's acquisition of San Diego-based Amplyx
follows an initial investment in December 2019
as part of a Series C financing. According to
PitchBook, the company was valued at $189
million after its latest funding round in 2020.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill
Berkrot)
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