Dear All, Two funding opportunities to call to your attention!
First, ENABLE-2 has just launched an Open Call for antibacterial programs throughout Europe. The ENABLE-2 platform supports the development of direct-acting systemic antibacterial compounds (potentiator molecules are also in scope, e.g. β-lactamase inhibitors) by providing experimental support and expert advice. The goal of ENABLE-2 is to develop Hits up to a level of advancement where they can successfully graduate to later stage initiatives (e.g., CARB-X, GARDP, REPAIR Impact Fund) or to out-licensing. Pathogens in scope for the Open Call are the ESKAPE pathogens: E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, S. aureus and E. faecium. The platform is able to run multiple programmes in parallel.
The key limitation is that ENABLE-2 is only open to Swedish academia, Swedish SMEs, and publicly funded universities in Europe. Go here (https://www.ilk.uu.se/enable2) for more information about the platform and instructions on how to submit an Expression of Interest. EOIs must be submitted between December 20, 2022 and January 8, 2023.
Second, let me update the 22 Nov 2022 newsflash on BARDA’s update to their long-running BAA-18-100-SOL-00003. In addition to their long-standing call for new antibacterial agents, antifungals are now in scope! To see this, search for “antifungal” in the posted .pdf to find the text. I do not think there are any geographic limits here — BARDA seeks the best programs from anywhere in the world. The next deadline for proposals is 17 Mar 2023. Don’t panic if you can’t meet that timeline as further deadlines will doubtless follow: this BAA has offered 4 deadlines/year since 2018!
All best wishes, –jr
John H. Rex, MD | Chief Medical Officer, F2G Ltd. | Operating Partner, Advent Life Sciences. Follow me on Twitter: @JohnRex_NewAbx. See past newsletters and subscribe for the future: https://amr.solutions/blog/. All opinions are my own.
Current funding opportunities (most current list is here)
- FDA have announced five RFPs spanning antifungal animal models, usability of antimicrobial drug labeling, urine PK-PD, and interpretive breakpoints. Applications are due dates of 23 Jan 2023 — see this newsletter for more details.
- Current funding rounds from CARB-X are as described in this newsletter!
- The AMR Action Fund is now open to proposals for funding of Phase 2 / Phase 3 antibacterial therapeutics. Per its charter, the fund prioritizes investment in treatments that address a pathogen prioritized by the WHO, the CDC and/or other public health entities that: (i) are novel (e.g., absence of known cross-resistance, novel targets, new chemical classes, or new mechanisms of action); and/or (ii) have significant differentiated clinical utility (e.g., differentiated innovation that provides clinical value versus standard of care to prescribers and patients, such as safety/tolerability, oral formulation, different spectrum of activity); and (iii) reduce patient mortality. It is also expected that such agents would have the potential to strongly address the likely requirements for delinked Pull incentives such as the UK (NHS England) subscription pilot and the PASTEUR Act in the US. Submit queries to contact@amractionfund.com.
- BARDA’s long-running BAA-18-100-SOL-00003 offers support for both antibacterial and antifungal agents. This BAA has offered 4 deadlines/year since 2018 … check the most current amendment for details.
- INCATE (Incubator for Antibacterial Therapies in Europe) is an early-stage funding vehicle supporting innovation vs. drug-resistant bacterial infections. The fund provides advice, community, and non-dilutive funding (€10k in Stage I and up to €250k in Stage II) to support early-stage ventures in creating the evidence and building the team needed to get next-level funding. Details and contacts on their website (https://www.incate.net/).
- It’s not a funder, but AiCuris’ AiCubator offers incubator support to very early stage projects. Read more about it here.
- The Global AMR R&D Hub’s dynamic dashboard (link) summarizes the global clinical development pipeline, incentives for AMR R&D, and investors/investments in AMR R&D.
- In addition to the lists provided by the Global AMR R&D Hub, you might also be interested in my most current lists of R&D incentives (link) and priority pathogens (link).
Upcoming meetings of interest to the AMR community (most current list is here):
- 1-2 Feb 2023 (virtual): Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Conference by GARDP and BSAC in collaboration with ReAct Africa and Africa CDC. Go here for details.
- 16-17 Mar 2023 (timings suggest hybrid EU-US): 7th AMR Conference, hosted by the BEAM Alliance with many co-sponsors. This has historically been a very good networking event. Go here for details.
- 14 Apr 2023 (Copenhagen, Denmark; 3-6.30p CEST): ECCMID and the Global Leaders Group on AMR will jointly sponsor a symposium entitled “Forging partnerships between science and policy in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).” Go here to register.
- 15-18 Apr 2023 (Copenhagen, Denmark): 33rd ECCMID. Go here for details and to register.
- 8-12 May 2023 (Lisbon, Portugal): 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases. Go here for details.
- 14-22 Oct 2023 (residential, Annecy, France): ICARe, the Interdisciplinary Course on Antibiotics and Resistance. Now in its 7th year, this course is a deep-dive into the world of antibiotic development. Intense, rigorous, and HIGHLY recommended. Seats are always limited … apply sooner rather than later! Go here for details.