My friend Adam Rubenstein is THE champion of the life sciences in Colorado. He correctly raises a hugely important issue, namely, the growing need for novel, effective antibiotics in an era where resistance to existing antibiotics is rapidly growing.
Now the reasons for a relative lack of interest on the part of big pharma have been well documented. The main reason, of course, is that antibiotics are acute medicines. They are typically used for only a 5-10 day course of therapy. Compare that to some cardiovascular medications, for example, which patients may be on for years. The latter model is preferable. Companies love to see prescribers lock their patients into a single therapy. It creates a steady revenue stream for the company. Who wouldn't want that!
This creates a huge opportunity for smaller companies to enter this space. As our collective understanding of "superbug" genomics continues to grow, novel druggable targets will emerge.
However, there are two complications. First, antibiotics, especially oral antibiotics, are notoriously difficult to develop. They can have poor solubility, poor oral absorption, and some can be quite nephrotoxic. Second, it is likely that the rate of microbial DNA drift is increasing, meaning that the rate at which microbes will become resistant to a novel antibiotic will increase. If physicians are concerned that a novel antibiotic will confer resistance faster, then it will be used with great caution, further depressing the market opportunity.
Regardless, as the recent acquisition of Vicuron demonstrates, there is value to be created in this space.
I'm glad there is one company in Colorado working on this challenge. We need more of them!
Colorado Attacking IDSA Superbug List
IDSA’s Bad Bugs, No Drugs report showed a steady 20-year decline in the number of new FDA-approved antimicrobials and total withdrawal from the field by many major pharmaceutical companies.
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