Forge And Basilea Enter Into Multi-Target Agreement To Discover And Develop Novel Antibiotics

SAN DIEGO, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Forge Therapeutics, Inc. (Forge) and Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. (Basilea), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. [SIX: BSLN], announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration and license agreement to discover, develop, and commercialize novel antibiotic classes. They will apply Forge's proprietary BLACKSMITH metalloenzyme chemistry platform to develop potent and selective inhibitors against two historically difficult-to-drug, unexploited antibiotic targets.

Under the terms of the agreement, Basilea will make an upfront payment to Forge to access their BLACKSMITH platform for two targets. Forge is eligible to receive undisclosed potential development and sales milestone payments of up to $167M per target and tiered royalties upon commercialization of each antibiotic stemming from the collaboration.

"We are excited to partner with Basilea, a global leader in anti-infective research and development, to pursue novel metalloenzyme targets that have significant promise in this challenging therapeutic area," said Zachary A. Zimmerman, Ph.D., CEO of Forge. "We believe that linking our novel chemistry with Basilea's deep drug development and commercial expertise will be a powerful combination in addressing the global threat of antibacterial resistance."

"We are very much looking forward to the collaboration with Forge to develop truly innovative new antibiotics," commented Dr. Laurenz Kellenberger, Chief Scientific Officer of Basilea. "Forge's platform complements our focused approach to discover antibiotics with new mechanisms of action that have the potential to make a difference to patients' lives."

The two targets to be explored by Forge and Basilea under the agreement are well characterized metalloenzyme targets, which are vital for a variety of biological functions in bacteria. Applying new chemistry will be critical to building potent selective inhibitors against these unexploited targets in order to have the potential to combat antibiotic resistant mutations.

About Forge's BLACKSMITH Chemistry Platform

Forge's platform called BLACKSMITH comprises a deep knowledge of metalloenzymes, bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry know-how, and a focused library of proprietary metal-binding fragment pharmacophores (MBPs) that provide selective & diverse starting points for novel inhibitors. Forge's strategy is to use the BLACKSMITH platform to discover new chemistry for the treatment of a broad range of diseases in areas of unmet needs with initial efforts in the area of infectious disease.

About Basilea

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of products that address the medical challenges in the therapeutic areas of oncology and anti-infectives. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com.

About Forge Therapeutics

At Forge Therapeutics, we are developing medicines targeting metal-dependent enzymes found in nature. Over 30% of known enzymes are metalloenzymes, covering all major enzyme classes: oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases. Metal ions, including magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese and copper are the essential ingredient in these metalloenzymes. At Forge, we are the BLACKSMITHS of modern medicine, providing the tools to address any metalloenzyme challenge.

Forge has a strategic drug discovery relationship with Evotec AG, a research collaboration with Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd., and has been awarded funding by CARB-X as well as government agencies. In addition, Forge has amassed a rich intellectual property estate on metalloenzyme-targeted inhibitors to protect its BLACKSMITH platform and pipeline including technology licensed from UCSD. For further information, please visit the company's website www.ForgeTherapeutics.com and follow us on Twitter @ForgeThera.

Forge Company Contact:
[email protected]

Forge Media Contact:
Amy Conrad
Juniper Point
[email protected] 
858-366-3243

SOURCE Forge Therapeutics, Inc.