• The reward will accelerate the development of VE707 for various multi-drug resistant infections
   
• Vedanta Biosciences is eligible for an additional $3.5 million subject to certain milestones

Vedanta Biosciences, a pre-clinical stage firm involved in the development of a new category of therapies for immune intervened diseases, reportedly announced that it has secured CARB-X grant worth US$5.8 million to expedite the development of VE707 for various multi-drug resistant infections. After Vedanta Biosciences completes certain milestones, it will be eligible for another $3.5 million.

Apparently, the program generally addresses major unmet therapeutic requirements for some critical hospital-acquired infections that are caused by some multi-drug resistant organisms. 

Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X), essentially a non-profit partnership, is devoted towards accelerating the early development of antibacterial research & development. This is primarily to address the increasing global threat of proliferating drug-resistant bacteria.

The funding shall be focused on the development of VE707 which happens to be a preclinical human discovery program of Vedanta, which is microbiome-derived and is designed to restore microbiota and prevent infection as well as colonization recurrence of various multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO). These organisms are responsible for infections in thousands of patients under higher risk in the United States and Europe.

CARB-X’s executive director, Kevin Outterson stated that the addition of the VE707 program of Vedanta to the accelerator’s portfolio will expand the diversity of its pipeline as well as reflect a unique approach towards drug-resistant infections. 

Outterson further added that when innovations like VE707 are approved for patients to use and end up successful, it can provide broader options for treatment to the physicians. This would further strengthen the ability of the patients to fight against critical infections as well as curb the spread of all the drug-resistant bacteria.

VE707 is mainly designed to prevent any infection that can lead to life-threatening delays of treatment or even death. Infections like these lead to additional patient isolation practice costs of approximately $2 billion alone.

Source Credit- https://www.morningstar.com/news/business-wire/20191204005928/vedanta-biosciences-awarded-58-million-carb-x-grant-to-accelerate-development-of-ve707-for-multi-drug-resistant-infections