An estimated 700,000 people die each year worldwide from bacterial infections. New antibiotics, rapid diagnostics, vaccines and other products are urgently needed to treat bacteria that are increasingly resistant to existing antibiotics.
To address this need, the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is expanding its Global Accelerator Network, bringing together 10 world-class organizations from six countries, including Danish BioInnovation Institute, into a single global network of expertise to provide scientific, technical and business support to the growing numbers of CARB-X-funded antibacterial research projects and start-ups.
“We are expanding our accelerator network to increase support for the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics, vaccines and other life-saving products that the world so urgently needs to fight the rise of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X’s portfolio is growing rapidly. BioInnovation Institute and this global network of accelerators will provide the full range of scientific, technical and business support our projects need to progress and succeed,” says Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X and Boston University law professor.
$500 million investments in antibacterial R&D over five years
Between 2016-2021 CARB-X is investing up to $500 million in antibacterial R&D. The goal is to support projects through the early phases of development so that they will attract additional private or public support for further clinical development and approval for use in patients.
“By joining the network, BioInnovation Institute commits to support international CARB-X companies in their development through Phase 1. At BioInnovation Institute, they will have access to our 2300 m2 state-of-the-art labs and office space, high-level mentors and experts, a thriving entrepreneurial community and networks in the heart of Medicon Valley, one of Europe’s leading life science clusters,” says Jens Nielsen, CEO at BioInnovation Institute.
Faster development towards the market
Through the collaboration between BioInnovation Institute and CARB-X, research-based start-ups and more mature companies can be propelled faster towards investment opportunities, like the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s REPAIR (Replenishing and Enabling the Pipeline for Anti-Infective Resistance) Impact fund, and others.
“We are looking to invest 165M USD in companies involved in discovering and the early-stage development of therapies targeting resistant microorganisms. With this new collaboration between BioInnovation Institute and CARB-X we would like to see many more investment opportunities in start-ups that can fight the urgent threat against public health that antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose,” says Aleks Engel, partner at Novo Seeds and director for REPAIR Impact Fund.
The first CARB-X BioInnovation Institute collaborations are expected to start in the summer of 2019.
More info on CARB-X
CARB-X members
Members of the CARB-X Accelerator Network include BaselArea.swiss, Basel, Switzerland; the BioInnovation Institute (BII), Copenhagen, Denmark; the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI), South San Francisco, CA, USA; the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bangalore, India; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland; the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany; the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE), Union, NJ, USA; Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), Cambridge, MA, USA; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; and Wellcome Trust, London, UK, which is also a CARB-X funding partner.
About CARB-X
Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) is a Boston University global partnership funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the Wellcome Trust, a global charity based in the UK working to improve health globally, the UK Government’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund (UK GAMRIF), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). BARDA, the Wellcome Trust, the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Innovation Fund, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with in-kind support from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
CARB-X is dedicated to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D to address the rising global threat of drug-resistant bacteria. CARB-X is investing more than $500 million from 2016-2021 to support the development of innovative antibiotics and other therapeutics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and devices. CARB-X focuses exclusively on high priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. CARB-X has built the world’s largest and most innovative pipeline of preclinical products against drug-resistant infections. It is based at Boston University in the School of Law. https://carb-x.org/. Follow us on Twitter @CARB_X.
About the CARB-X Global Accelerator Network
The CARB-X Global Accelerator Network is a network of organizations that provide business, scientific and technical expertise and services to CARB-X-funded companies to support their antibacterial research projects. The Network also plays a key role in addressing common challenges facing the antibacterial product development community. Members of the CARB-X Accelerator Network include BaselArea.swiss, Basel, Switzerland; the BioInnovation Institute (BII), Copenhagen, Denmark; the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI), South San Francisco, CA, USA; the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bangalore, India; the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), Geneva, Switzerland; the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Braunschweig, Germany; the Institute for Life Science Entrepreneurship (ILSE), Union, NJ, USA; Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio), Cambridge, MA, USA; RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; and Wellcome Trust, London, UK, which is also a CARB-X funding partner.