Enanta Pharmaceuticals announces NIH unit to fund Bicyclolides development
Enanta Pharmaceuticals announced that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health, has agreed to provide additional funding of $9.2M to its existing contract with Enanta to fund preclinical and early clinical development for a new class of bridged bicyclic antibiotics known as Bicyclolides. NIAID is funding development of the Bicyclolides for use as medical countermeasures against multiple biodefense Category A and B bacteria. This brings total funding from NIAID to date to approximately $23.5M As part of a multi-year contract that was awarded in 2011, this funding could total approximately $42.7M if all project milestones are met and NIAID exercises all its options to fund additional development under the contract.