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RiboNovix Inc. - Developing Anti-Infectives That Are
Less Susceptible to Antibiotic Resistance.
From: Business Wire | Date: 10/5/2004
DETROIT, Mich. & LINCOLN, Mass. -- RiboNovix Secures License to Novel
Anti-Infective Discovery Technology from Wayne State University
New biotechnology company, RiboNovix, Inc., is addressing the worsening problem of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria by developing new anti-infectives that are less susceptible
to drug resistance. Over the last few months, RiboNovix has completed an exclusive
license agreement with Wayne State University for the rights to a novel functional
genomics platform technology developed in the laboratories of Dr. Philip Cunningham,
assembled a team of leading researchers in the field of antibiotic resistance, and been
awarded a $346,066 Phase I SBIR grant by the National Institutes of Health.
"We are losing the battle against many bacteria as drug resistance is reducing the
effectiveness of more and more of the currently used antibiotics," stated Alison
Taunton-Rigby, co-founder and CEO of RiboNovix. "There is a tremendous need to
develop new, powerful antibiotics to known and new target sites, and more importantly,
to anticipate which mutations within those targets are likely to cause resistance.
RiboNovix' technology allows us to do this, and thereby develop novel antibiotics where
drug resistance should not arise in treating patients."
RiboNovix believes that its technology represents a significant advance in drug
development in the field of anti-infectives. RiboNovix' new drugs may provide much
needed alternative therapies for infections that are resistant to current antibiotics, new
therapies for the treatment of infections for which current therapies are insufficient, and
its products will potentially have longer therapeutic lifetimes in the clinic.
Novel Functional Genomics Technology to Anticipate Resistance:
RiboNovix has secured an exclusive license from Wayne State University for intellectual
property based on Dr. Philip Cunningham's development of a novel genetic system that
allows mutational analysis of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) in living cells. Because mutations
in rRNA affect the production of all cellular proteins and are typically lethal, previous
attempts to study rRNA mutations in living cells have had limited success. However, the
new genetic technology being exploited by RiboNovix allows mutational analysis of
bacterial rRNA in vivo without affecting cell viability. The system can be used to identify
the specific nucleotide sites in rRNA that are required for functionality, and those that
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can be mutated without loss of function. Antibiotic resistance is more likely to develop for
antibiotics that bind to nucleotide sites that are non-essential for function. By identifying
the rRNA nucleotides required for functionality and targeting new antibiotics to these
sites, it is expected that these new anti-infectives will be less susceptible to the
development of drug resistance.
"Because of their remarkable powers of genetic adaptation, bacteria have been able to
mutate and become resistant to every antibiotic currently in use," stated Dr. Philip
Cunningham, a co-Founder of RiboNovix. "Our technology takes advantage of
bacteria's natural adaptability to identify new drug targets and to isolate all of the target
mutations that might lead to drug resistance. RiboNovix' anti-infectives will therefore be
pre-selected to remain active in the presence of any mutation that the microbe might
develop."
About Antibiotics and Drug Resistance
Antibiotics represent the third largest pharmaceutical market at $25 billion in sales per
year. Most marketed antibiotics are natural products or derivatives thereof, which are
biosynthesized by one microbial species as a defense against another species. New
antibiotics have been developed through chemical modifications to these existing drug
classes. But bacteria have evolved protective resistance mechanisms against each and
every generation of compounds in each and every antibiotic class, so that bacteria not
only survive, but thrive.
In general, antibiotics work by binding to a specific target in a bacteria and inhibiting a
cellular function essential for the microbe's survival. The four main bacterial cell
functions inhibited are bacterial protein synthesis, cell wall biosynthesis, DNA
replication and cell metabolism. About 50% of antibiotics bind to the bacterial ribosome,
the site of protein synthesis. As a result, the ribosome is a proven drug target, but drug
resistance develops through the occurrence of mutations in the ribosomal RNA.
RiboNovix' proprietary genetic technology allows the anticipation of the resistance
mutations in these targets, and also the identification of new ribosomal drug targets.
Assembling a Team of Business and Scientific Leaders:
RiboNovix' business team is made up of experienced biotechnology executives. Alison
Taunton-Rigby, Ph.D., O.B.E. is a Director and serves as President and Chief Executive
Officer. She has been a senior executive in the healthcare industry for over 25 years,
and was previously CEO of Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, Cambridge Biotech
Corporation, and Mitotix Inc. Cheryl Murphy Ph.D. is Vice President, Technology
Development. She has held senior management positions at Antigenics, Inc., Aquila
Biopharmaceuticals and Cambridge Biotech Corporation.
RiboNovix' scientific advisors include leading researchers in the scientific disciplines of
RNA structure and biology, functional genomics and medicinal chemistry, with specific
experience in the fields of infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance. Philip
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Cunningham, Ph.D., Associate Professor at Wayne State University, is a co-founder of
the company, and a Director and Chair of the Science Board. His laboratory specializes
in microbial genetics in the field of protein synthesis, and in the areas of molecular
biology, biochemistry and microbial physiology.
Other science advisors include Alexander Mankin, Ph.D., who is Professor, Center for
Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of
Illinois, Chicago. He is an internationally recognized leader in the study of ribosome
function, protein synthesis and the development of drug resistance. James Williamson,
Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and the Skaggs Institute for
Chemical Biology at the Scripps Research Institute. Dr. Williamson's laboratory uses a
variety of biochemical and biophysical techniques, including NMR spectroscopy, to
characterize structure and folding of RNA molecules and RNA/protein complexes.
Gerald Beltz. Ph.D., is in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, where he is involved in Harvard's
program on Biodefense. He has 20 years of experience in the development of products
to treat and prevent infectious disease and cancers. John SantaLucia Jr., Ph.D., is
Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University. His laboratory
specializes in solution structure determination by NMR and nucleic-acid folding
thermodynamics. Christine Chow, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of
Chemistry at Wayne State University, is developing new synthetic strategies for the
site-specific incorporation of modified nucleosides into RNA and examining small
molecule-nucleic acid interactions. Mark Spaller, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department
of Chemistry, Wayne State University, specializes in the areas of combinatorial chemical
synthesis, peptidomimetic chemistry and rational drug design. John Montgomery, Ph.D.,
Professor of Chemistry at Wayne State University, is an expert in organic synthesis.
Securing Resources to Build a Biotechnology Company:
RiboNovix recently received a $346,066 Phase I SBIR grant from the National Institutes
of Health for research to construct a functional E. coli rRNA mutation library and identify
new anti-infective rRNA targets in E. coli.
The company is planning to raise a Series A round of venture capital financing to
advance the development of novel anti-infectives.
About RiboNovix:
RiboNovix, Inc. is a functional genomics-based drug development company focused on
anti-infectives that are less susceptible to drug resistance. The company's platform
technology allows the anticipation of resistance mutations in bacteria, as well as the
identification of new ribosomal drug targets. RiboNovix is based in Michigan with
executive offices in Massachusetts.
About Wayne State University:
Wayne State University is one of the nation's pre-eminent public research universities in
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an urban setting.
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