SBIR-STTR Award

Discovery of Inhibitors of the Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis Pathway Enzymes Lpxa
Award last edited on: 7/15/2010

Sponsored Program
SBIR
Awarding Agency
NIH : NIAID
Total Award Amount
$456,299
Award Phase
1
Solicitation Topic Code
855
Principal Investigator
Vicki Nienaber

Company Information

Zenobia Therapeutics Inc

3550 General Atomics Court Building B Room 435
San Diego, CA 92121
Location: Single
Congr. District: 52
County: San Diego

Phase I

Contract Number: 1R43AI085988-01A1
Start Date: 3/5/2010    Completed: 2/28/2011
Phase I year
2010
Phase I Amount
$456,299
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been an evolving problem since the dawn of the antibiotics era, requiring consistent scientific advances over the years in antibiotic discovery, epidemiological surveillance and infection control techniques to overcome the then-current clinical problem. One way to address resistance mechanisms is to attack the bacteria on many different fronts as has been done in the anti-viral field with HIV. However, unlike in the antiviral field, most commercial antibiotics were discovered many years ago and little advancement has been made in the discovery of novel therapeutics. This is even after the dawn of the genomics era when complete bacterial genomes were sequenced and unique enzymatic pathways identified. A multitude of targets have been screened by high-throughput screening methods to no avail. Recently, the reason for this high failure rate has been analyzed and conclusions drawn that traditional HTS libraries, designed to fit all disease indications, do not possess the properties required for anti-bacterial agents. Retrospective analysis reveal that in general successful antibacterial agents are more polar and larger than other drug molecules, and in fact, do not fit the criteria used to build most large HTS collections. Rather than re-building HTS libraries for antibacterial research which would be a tremendous and costly undertaking, in this proposal, we will use another method, fragment-based lead discovery, where fragments of drugs are screened rather than intact molecules. Because the compounds are smaller, the libraries need not be large or costly to assemble. Furthermore, as we find compounds that bind to our target and begin to increase the size of the fragments, we can design in antibiotic-friendly chemical properties at the same time we are building in potency. We are focusing on the bacterial cell wall synthesis pathway in gram negative bacteria, targeting two proteins: LpxA and LpxD. Both proteins are essential and because the cell wall can invoke resistance to some antibiotics, inhibitors may not only be therapeutic agents as a mono-therapy but could be co-dosed with existing resistant antibiotics.

Public Health Relevance:
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics has been an evolving problem since the dawn of the antibiotics era, requiring consistent scientific advances over the years in antibiotic discovery, epidemiological surveillance and infection control techniques to overcome the then-current clinical problem. We are addressing resistance mechanisms by finding inhibitors of bacterial cell wall synthesis in gram negative bacteria. We are targeting two proteins in the pathway: LpxA and LpxD using the method of fragment- based lead discovery. Traditional modern drug discovery methods have been largely unsuccessful in identifying antibacterial compounds primarily because we have been looking in the wrong place (in chemical space). Chemical properties of successful antibiotics have been identified and will be adhered to through the course of this study.

Thesaurus Terms:
3-D Structure; 3-Dimensional Structure; 3d Structure; Aids Virus; Acinetobacter Baumannii; Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Virus; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus; Active Sites; Address; Affect; Affinity; Amino Acids; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibacterial Agents; Antibiotic Agents; Antibiotic Drugs; Antibiotic Resistance; Antibiotic Resistance, Bacterial; Antibiotics; Antiviral Agents; Antiviral Drugs; Antivirals; Assay; Bacteria; Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance; Bacterial Genome; Binding; Binding (Molecular Function); Bioassay; Biochemical; Biologic Assays; Biological Assay; C. Pylori; Campylobacter Pylori; Cell Wall; Cells; Chemicals; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Chlamydia Trachomatis; Chrysemonas; Clinical; Collection; Crystallization; Crystallography, X-Ray; Crystallography, X-Ray Diffraction; Crystallography, X-Ray/Neutron; Crystallography, Xray; Data; Development; Disabled Persons; Disabled Population; Disease; Disorder; Dose; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Drug Kinetics; Drug Screening; Drugs; E Coli; Endotoxins; Engineering; Engineerings; Enzymes; Epidemiology; Equilibrium; Escherichia Coli; Essential Genes; Evaluation Studies, Drug, Pre-Clinical; Evaluation Studies, Drug, Preclinical; Flr; Failure (Biologic Function); Flavimonas; Funding; Generalized Growth; Genes; Genomics; Goals; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Growth; H. Pylori; H. Pylory; H.Pylori; Hcg Beta Core; Hiv; Htlv-Iii; Handicapped; Helicobacter Pylori; High Throughput Assay; Human Immunodeficiency Viruses; Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type Iii; Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type Iii; Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type Iii; Hydrogen Bonding; Infection; Infection Control; Infirmity; K. Pneumoniae; Klebsiella Pneumonia Bacterium; Klebsiella Pneumoniae; Lav-Htlv-Iii; Lps; Lead; Length Of Life; Libraries; Ligands; Link; Lipopolysaccharides; Literature; Location; Longevity; Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus; Medical; Medication; Medicinal Chemistry; Membrane; Methods; Methods And Techniques; Methods, Other; Miscellaneous Antibiotic; Molecular Interaction; Molecular Weight; Monitor; Mono-S; Monos; Organism; Output; P. Aeruginosa; P.Aeruginosa; Pathway Interactions; Patient Care; Patient Care Delivery; Pb Element; Penetration; People With Disabilities; Permeability; Persons With Disabilities; Pharmaceutic Chemistry; Pharmaceutic Preparations; Pharmaceutical Chemistry; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Pharmacokinetics; Phase; Preclinical Drug Evaluation; Programs (Pt); Programs [publication Type]; Property; Property, Loinc Axis 2; Proteins; Pseudomonas; Pseudomonas Aeruginosa; Pseudomonas Pyocyanea; Reporting; Research; Resistance; Resistance Development; Resistance To Antibiotics; Resistance, Antibiotic; Resistant Development; Resistant To Antibiotics; Resolution; Rickettsia Trachomae; Scientific Advances And Accomplishments; Screening Procedure; Series; Single Crystal Diffraction; Site; Specificity; Structure; Surface Plasmon Resonance; Techniques; Testing; Therapeutic; Therapeutic Agents; Time; Tissue Growth; Ugf-Hcg; Ugp Peptide; Viral; Virus-Hiv; X Ray Crystallographies; X-Ray Crystallography; Xenobiotics; Aminoacid; Anti-Bacterial; Antibacterial; Antibiotic Resistant; Antibiotic Resistant, Bacterial; Assay Development; Balance; Balance Function; Base; Chemical Property; Combat; Computational Tools; Computerized Tools; Core Fragment; Design; Designing; Developing Resistance; Disabled; Disabled People; Disease/Disorder; Drug Discovery; Drug/Agent; Enzyme Pathway; Failure; Gene Product; Handicapping; Handicapping Condition; Heavy Metal Pb; Heavy Metal Lead; High Throughput Screening; Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Beta-Subunit Core Fragment; Improved; Inhibitor; Inhibitor/Antagonist; Lead Series; Life Span; Lifespan; Living System; Membrane Structure; New Approaches; New Therapeutics; Next Generation Therapeutics; Novel; Novel Approaches; Novel Strategies; Novel Strategy; Novel Therapeutics; Ontogeny; Pathogen; Pathway; Phase 1 Study; Preference; Programs; Protein Complex; Public Health Relevance; Resistance Mechanism; Resistance To Antibiotic, Bacterial; Resistant; Resistant Mechanism; Scientific Accomplishments; Scientific Advances; Screening; Screenings; Structural Biology; Success; Three Dimensional Structure; Tool; Urinary Gonadotropin Fragment; Urinary Gonadotropin Peptide

Phase II

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Start Date: 00/00/00    Completed: 00/00/00
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