Millions to fight tuberculosis
An anti-tuberculosis drug developed by a resident of Skolkovo attracted 44 million rubles of investment
Vitaly Shustikov, Skolkovo
A drug for the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, developed by MT-Medicines, a resident of the biomedical technologies cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation, attracted investments in the amount of 44 million rubles. The investment round was attended by the venture biotech fund Primer Capital, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and a private investor.
Primer Capital is a venture fund that invests in projects in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries. Among the funded projects: microcatheters for blood vessels, a drug for patients with multiple myeloma, a medical decision support system, a clinical research data processing system, a drug for the treatment of thrombosis, an innovative method for diagnosing dermatological diseases, a service for the selection of personalized antitumor therapy. Among the current partners of the foundation: Skolkovo, the North-Western Technology Transfer Center, RVC, FRII.
According to the latest WHO report, 10.4 million new cases of tuberculosis were registered worldwide in 2015. The incidence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is increasing, with almost half of the cases occurring in Russia, China and India. A long period of absence of innovative developments in the field of pharmacological treatment of tuberculosis has naturally led to an increase in the resistance of bacteria to existing drugs. The development of new classes of drugs is one of the priorities in the fight against resistant forms of this socially significant disease.
MT-Medicines has developed a highly specific inhibitor of cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are involved in the key processes of pathogenic mycobacteria, while none of the currently used drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis is directed at this target.
Alexey Klyuchenovich, Director of MT-Medicines:
"Young scientific teams often face difficulties in the process of working on innovative projects. We are glad that our developments have received comprehensive support, which has allowed us to move to a new level of work on the project. We will do everything to justify the trust of our partners."
Elizaveta Rozhdestvenskaya, Executive Director of the PrimerCapital Foundation:
"As a result of the project, a fundamentally new effective drug for the treatment of tuberculosis with fewer side effects will be obtained, which purposefully acts on the target. Application of the P450 M inhibitor. tuberculosis will significantly optimize existing combined drug regimens in the treatment of resistant forms of tuberculosis, expanding the arsenal in personalizing the treatment of this serious disease."
Investments will be directed to the development of technology for obtaining the finished dosage form, analytical methods of quality control and to conduct preclinical studies of the drug.
Kamila Zarubina, Director of Acceleration of the cluster of Biological and Medical Technologies of the Skolkovo Foundation:
"The company became a resident of the Skolkovo Foundation in 2016 as a result of winning (third place) at the Startup Village competition. Soon she received the support of the Skolkovo Foundation in the form of a mini-grant to confirm the concept of research, as well as the selection and research of leading drug candidates, which, among other things, allowed her to take the project to a new level and attract investment. We are very pleased with the rapid development of MT-Medicines. This transaction is one of the successful examples of the interaction of various elements of state support, development institutions and private investors."
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