Basilea Pharmaceutica’s work developing new antifungals has received a significant boost from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which has signed off on up to $268 million of funding to the Swiss company over more than a decade.
The agreement with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will see the funding spread over up to 12 years to “support the development of designated novel, first-in-class antifungals and antibacterials in Basilea’s portfolio,” the company explained in a Sept. 19 release. Receiving the full $268 million will be dependent on Basilea hitting a series of clinical and regulatory milestones as well as BARDA choosing to extend the contract.
In the near term, the company will get $29 million to develop its antifungals fosmanogepix and BAL2062. The biotech is lining up fosmanogepix—which originates at Amplyx Pharmaceuticals but which Basilea acquired from Pfizer last year—for a phase 3 trial in invasive yeast infections, while BAL2062—which was bought from Gravitas Therapeutics—has completed a phase 1 safety study and is being aimed at molds like Aspergillus.
The nature of the funding agreement means BARDA and Basilea can together decide which candidates to move in and out of the remit “based on product performance, technical risk, and programmatic need.”
Basilea’s relationship with BARDA stretches back to 2013 when the agency committed $89 million in funding toward the antibiotic BAL30072—although the biotech went on to scrap the candidate three years later.
Basilea CEO David Veitch said today’s agreement “will be leveraging our strong portfolio and the capabilities of our organization to develop urgently needed novel antifungals and antibacterials.”
“We believe this long-term partnership will also lead to the successful implementation of our strategy to become a leading anti-infectives company,” Veitch added.
Basilea currently markets Cresemba for invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for bacterial infections. The low return on investment means many of the biggest biopharmas have given up working on new antifungals or antibiotics in recent years—although GSK in particular has continued to sign deals and post encouraging clinical results against infections like gonorrhea.
Meanwhile, Basilea has swum against the tide, pivoting away from cancer toward anti-infectives last year.