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Achaogen in San Francisco, CA is working on “preclinical development of novel therapeutics that reduce the virulence of, and inhibit resistance in, Class A Bacterial Pathogens.” Achaogen closed a $26 million round of venture financing in October 2006; their approach focuses on small molecules that inhibit the emergence of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. An October 2006 contract has now been followed by a June 2007 contract, and the terms appear to indicate progress.

So, just what are “Class A bacterial pathogens?” You certainly know some of them by name…

The US Center for Disease Control defines them as high-priority agents that could pose a risk to national security because they:

• Can be easily disseminated or transmitted from person to person;
• Result in high mortality rates and have the potential for major public health impact;
• Might cause public panic and social disruption; and
• Require special action for public health preparedness.

As outlined on the CDC website, these include:

• Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
• Botulism (Clostridium botulinum toxin)
• Plague (Bubonic et. al. – Yersinia pestis)
• Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)

It also includes smallpox virus, viral hemorrhagic fevers (filoviruses e.g., Ebola, Marburg) and arenaviruses (e.g., Lassa, Machupo), but this contract specifies Class A bacterial agents. We’ve also covered one of the research approaches being funded re: viral hemorrhagic fevers.

Other disease classification systems have been proposed, which may offer medical utility as the ability to engineer agents becomes more broadly disseminated on a global basis. The CDC’s classification is designed to serve more of a public threat-level function, which is a different purpose. At some point, however, a fusion of these 2 kinds of classification systems to produce ratings like “Classtype A3 viral agent” may become useful.

Contracts:

Unless otherwise noted, The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, VA issues all contracts.

June 20/07: Achaogen in San Francisco, CA won an $18.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to Perform Research on Novel Broad-Spectrum Therapeutics Against Gram-Negative Bacterial Threat Agents. Work will be performed in San Francisco, CA (68.50%), Menlo Park, CA (15.25%), Detroit, MI (8.35%), Baltimore, MD (5.58%), and Frederick, MD (2.32%), and is expected to be complete by June 14, 2011. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Dec. 1, 2006, and 50 bids were received (HDTRA1-07-C-0079).

Oct 12/06: Achaogen in San Francisco, CA won a $24.6 million cost-reimbursement contract for preclinical development of novel broad-spectrum small-molecule therapeutics that reduce the virulence of, and inhibit resistance in, Class A Bacterial Pathogens. Achaogen adds that the goal is to make the bacteria susceptible to existing fluoroquinolones, and potentially to other classes of antibacterial drugs. Tthe first year of the agreement is fully funded, and the intent is to have Achaogen pursue subsequent preclinical development activities culminating in an IND filing with the FDA. See also Achaogen release [PDF format]

Work on this contract will be performed in San Francisco, CA and is expected to be complete by Oct. 5, 2010. Bids were solicited online on Oct. 31, 2005, and 130 bids were received by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Fort Belvoir, VA (HDTRA1-06-C-0030).