Motif Bio receives award from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to advance iclaprim

Motif Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has received an award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which will fund important in vitro testing to advance the development of iclaprim for the treatment of lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).

“We are delighted to have received this award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a leader in the search for a cure for CF,” stated Dr David Huang, PhD, chief medical officer of Motif Bio. “Patients with CF, especially in the later stages of lung disease, are often infected with multidrug resistant bacteria that severely limit treatment options. The grant will advance the work we are doing to further elucidate iclaprim’s ability to inhibit the most problematic bacteria, including multidrug resistant bacteria, that are common in patients with CF.”

The bacterial pathogens that commonly infect the lungs of patients with CF can often exhibit broad-spectrum resistance to currently available antibiotics. Many of these bacteria are inherently resistant to specific classes of antibiotics.

Using the $120,000 award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Motif Bio will conduct and in vitro study to investigate the activity of iclaprim against various strains of Burkholderia, Stenotrophomonas and Achromobacter. These bacteria are frequently present in the airways of patients with CF and many strains are resistant to common antibiotics.

Iclaprim has been granted orphan drug designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus lung infections in patients with CF.