NEW YORK, Feb. 26 - Paradigm Genetics and VDDI Pharmaceuticals will research and develop novel antibiotics for certain bacteria that may be used as bioterror agents, the companies said on Tuesday.
Terms of the deal call for Paradigm to supply its MetaVantage platform. VDDI, meanwhile, will provide samples of a new class of antimicrobials recently discovered at the University of Alabama.
VDDI acquired the rights to the antimicrobial compounds, which researchers at the school claim target an important enzyme responsible for keeping alive certain microbes, in this case gram-positive bugs like Anthrax.
The agreement also gives Paradigm the option to co-develop with VDDI certain compounds for antibiotic and anti-fungal applications for applications in human health and agrochemistry.
Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.
This deal was originally funded with the help of a $6 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant to the UAB Center for Biophysical Sciences and Engineering, VDDI said. Next month, the US Department of Defense is set to award VDDI a multi-year contract worth $23 million to research and develop antibiotics that treat Anthrax.