Targanta Acquires Late-Stage Antibiotic from InterMune

03-Jan-2006

Targanta Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company developing antibacterial drugs, announced that it has acquired the worldwide ownership interest in oritavancin, an antibiotic that has completed two Phase III clinical trials.

Oritavancin, used to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections, was acquired from InterMune, Inc. The terms of the acquisition agreement include an upfront cash payment, milestone payments and the issuance of a convertible promissory note by Targanta which will initially be secured by the oritavancin assets. Upon the achievement by Targanta of certain corporate objectives, the note will convert into preferred stock of Targanta.

Oritavancin is a semi-synthetic glycopeptide antibiotic with bactericidal activity against clinically relevant serious Gram-positive infections, including multi-resistant strains. Two large multicenter Phase III studies, conducted by Eli Lilly and Company and InterMune, in over 1750 patients have suggested oritavancin to be an effective and safe therapy for complicated skin and skin structure infections. In both Phase III studies, oritavancin reached its primary endpoint and appeared to be as effective as a commonly used treatment regimen, vancomycin followed by cephalexin. The most commonly observed side effects in these clinical trials were headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and dizziness. Additional indications, including nosocomial pneumonia (infection of the lungs contracted during a hospital stay) and catheter-related bacteremia (presence of bacteria in the blood associated with in-dwelling catheters), will also be evaluated.

https://www.bionity.com/en/news/51174/targanta-acquires-late-stage-antibiotic-from-intermune.html