Dear All:
The wait is over — CARB-X has today released a call for new applications! The call has an interesting 2-round structure and you’ll need to study carefully both the press release and the supplemental details document to understand where your program would fit. Here’s my summary:
- Round 1:
- Submission window for Expressions of Interest: 22-29 March 2018
- Scope: Restricted to new classes of direct-acting small molecule and large molecule antibacterials that have potential to cover the top 6 Gram-negative pathogen groups from the WHO and CDC priority lists: A. baumannii (carbapenem-R), P. aeruginosa (carbapenem-R), Enterobacteriaceae (carbapenem-R and/or 3rd-gen ceph-R), Salmonellae spp. (fluoroquinolone-R), N. gonorrhoeae (3rd-gen ceph-R, fluoroquinolone-R), and Shigella spp. (fluoroquinolone-R).
- Round 2:
- Submission window for Expressions of Interest: 1-8 June 2018
- Scope: Both direct- and indirect-acting therapeutics as well as vaccines, diagnostics and devices that meet certain criteria.
- In terms of therapeutics, both novel and known classes are acceptable.
The very tight focus of Round #1 feels right to me … we really need to push hard at a global level on the creation of entirely novel classes of direct-acting agents. These will be rare but they are needed.
The scope of Round #2 is then broad and roughly comparable to the scope of prior CARB-X funding rounds.
With an announced portfolio of more than 20 projects and its search for both new accelerators and new staff, CARB-X continues to lead the charge against AMR. Exciting times!
All best wishes, –jr
John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Expert-in-Residence, Wellcome Trust. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://13.43.35.2/blog/
Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community:
- 28 Feb 2018 (Brussels): Deadline for responses to IMI2 Call 13 (Topic 3) on AMR diagnostics
- 2 Mar 2016 (Berlin): BEAM-sponsored 1-day “Big Drugs for Bad Bugs” conference
- 11-16 Mar 2018 (Ventura Beach): Gordon Research Conference on Antibacterial Discovery
- 12-13 Mar 2018 (London): BSAC’s Spring Conference
- 19 Mar 2018 (Washington: Duke-Margolis & FDA event: “Utilizing Innovative Statistical Methods and Trial Designs in Rare Disease Settings”
- 27-29 Mar 2018 (Cardiff, UK): BSAC-sponsored 3-day residential Workshop on Susceptibility Testing
- 16 Apr 2018 (Washington): Duke-Margolis & FDA event: “Evaluating Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria in Clinical Trials”
- 21-24 Apr 2018 (Madrid): ECCMID
- [NEW] 4-7 Jun 2018 (Boston): BIO (multiple AMR-focused sessions are expected)
- 7-11 Jun 2018 (Atlanta): ASM Microbe
- 22-27 Jul 2018 (Bryant University, Smithfield, RI): Gordon Research Conference on Drug Resistance for Cancer, Infectious Disease and Agriculture
- [Don’t miss this one] 4-7 Sep 2018 ESCMID-ASM Conference (#3) on Drug Development for AMR (Lisbon, Portugal) (initial flyer)
- 6-14 Oct 2018 International Course on Antibiotics and Resistance (ICARe, Les Pensières, Annecy, France)