GSK partners with Fimbrion to develop UTI drug

The joint project will see Fimbrion and the Discovery Partnerships with Academia (DPAc) team at GSK focus on the preclinical development of a class of mannose-containing small molecule compounds, dubbed mannosides.

Researchers will explore whether mannosides may be able to treat and avoid UTIs without inducing antibiotic resistance.

Fimbrion said mannosides represent a new way of treating bacterial infections, by simply preventing the bacteria from being able to stick to the walls of the bladder, enabling the body to naturally remove the infection.

The company noted that UTIs are the third leading indication for antibiotic therapy and where multidrug-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly common, highlighting the unmet medical need in the area.

Fimbrion Therapeutics president Scott Hultgren said:"We are excited for this strategic relationship and partnership with GSK enabling the development of our first drug candidate.

“This and other types of antibiotic-sparing therapeutics will be essential to prevent and treat increasingly prevalent infectious disease syndromes caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens.”

Fimbrion said it will continue to further develop its platform technology and pipeline with further narrow-spectrum antimicrobial strategies to combat UTIs and other bacterial infections.

The company’s novel narrow-spectrum antimicrobial strategies could be effective novel therapies for several bacterial infections, and have minimal disruption to the non-pathogenic, resident beneficial microbiota.