Spero Therapeutics announces antibiotics collaboration with Roche

Founded in April 2013 by Dr Ankit Mahadevia in collaboration with the Partners Innovation Fund, Spero Therapeutics is supported by the Atlas Venture seed program. Atlas Venture, SR One, and Partners Innovation Fund have invested in Spero Therapeutics’ Series A financing.

Dr Jean-François Formela of Atlas Venture Partner, Vikas Goyal of SR One, Dr Reza Halse of Partners Innovation Fund Partner, and Achillion Pharmaceuticals CEO Dr Milind Deshpande have joined the Spero Therapeutics board with Dr Mahadevia.

For Spero Therapeutics, Roche is providing non-dilutive research and development funding and will have the option to acquire Spero’s lead program at the Investigational New Drug application phase, at pre-negotiated terms including an upfront payment and milestones.

Spero acting president and Atlas Venture venture partner Dr Ankit Mahadevia noted Spero is particularly pleased to be partnering with Roche on its first program.

"The Roche team’s commitment to developing first-in-class therapies in the invigorated field of antibacterials makes them an ideal partner for Spero as we expand our efforts in this area," Dr Mahadevia added.

Spero Therapeutics’ first program extends from the work of the company’s scientific founder Dr Laurence Rahme. The company is developing an inhibitor of a novel target, which controls the virulence and persistence of gram-negative bacteria such as Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.

Preclinical studies have showed the approach’s potential to treat acute bacterial infections and prevent chronic persistence of pathogens in infection sites.

The approach is unique from traditional antibiotics in its potential to pose a lower risk of driving rapid emergence of resistance and impacting the human microbiome.