Subject: Achaogen Awarded Contract Worth up to $64 Million by BARDA for the Development of ACHN-490
From: "Achaogen" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:14:12 -0400

Aug. 30, 2010 22:06 UTC

Achaogen Awarded Contract Worth up to $64 Million by BARDA for the
Development of ACHN-490

- Achaogen Has Raised More Than $150 Million in Non-Dilutive Funding -

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Achaogen,
a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing innovative
antibiotics to treat life-threatening, multi-drug resistant (MDR)
bacterial infections, today announced the award of a contract with The
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA),
within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
contract covers development, manufacturing, and regulatory activities
that would position Achaogen’s lead antibiotic candidate ACHN-490 for
the treatment of certain biothreat agents, including Yersinia pestis,
which causes bubonic plague, and Francisella tularensis, which
causes tularemia. The same activities will also provide significant
value to the Company’s overall development program for ACHN-490, which
includes other life-threatening indications such as complicated urinary
tract infections and hospital-acquired pneumonia.

The contract includes a two-year base period with committed funding of
$27 million and subsequent option periods that, if completed, would
bring the total value of the award to $64.5 million.

“We are pleased to be the first awardee from BARDA’s broad-spectrum
antimicrobial initiative,” said J. Kevin Judice, Ph.D., chief executive
officer and chief scientific officer of Achaogen. “BARDA serves a
critical leadership role in the global effort to combat bacterial
biothreats and multi-drug resistance at a time when commercial
investment is insufficient to meet the challenges we are facing. We look
forward to working with BARDA and contributing to global efforts to
combat bacterial biothreats and bacterial resistance as we continue the
development of ACHN-490.”

With this award, Achaogen has secured significant, non-dilutive funding
for all of its ongoing drug discovery and development programs. In
aggregate, upon successful completion of its existing government
contracts, Achaogen will have received more than $150 million in
non-dilutive funding.

About ACHN-490

ACHN-490, Achaogen’s most advanced compound, combines excellent
solubility, stability, and physicochemical properties with an in vitro
spectrum of activity that includes current and emerging multi-drug
resistant (MDR) pathogens. ACHN-490 has been chemically engineered to
retain activity against bacteria resistant to carbapenems,
cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and legacy
aminoglycosides. It has demonstrated potent bactericidal activity in
vitro and efficacy in preclinical animal models against infections
caused by MDR Gram-negative bacteria (e.g., K. pneumoniae, E.
coli, and P. aeruginosa) and MRSA. ACHN-490 Injection is
being investigated in a randomized, double-blind, comparator-controlled
Phase 2 clinical study for the treatment of complicated urinary tract
infection (cUTI), the most commonly treated hospital infections in the
U.S., and acute pyelonephritis. Subsequent clinical studies are being
considered to evaluate ACHN-490 Injection in additional indications,
including hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated
pneumonia (VAP), complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) and blood
stream infections (BSI).

About Achaogen

Achaogen is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the
discovery and development of broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat
multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. Resistance to available
antibacterial therapies continues to rise at an alarming rate, and
Achaogen is applying its anticipatory science to meet this evolving
need, developing drugs today that will combat tomorrow’s resistant
pathogens. Through the use of non-dilutive funding from partnerships
with the NIH, the Department of Defense, and BARDA to augment funding
from venture investors, Achaogen has established specialized
capabilities that have enabled the company to pursue multiple discovery
and development programs.

Contacts

Pure Communications
Ashlea Kosikowski, 910-547-7093

Source: Achaogen

View this news release online at:

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100830006426/en

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