Designation underlines the need for novel, first-in-class antimicrobials for the treatment of infections with Gram-negative bacteria
Omnix Medical, a biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation anti-infectives for the treatment of life-threatening infections, today announced that the Company has received fast-track designation for its novel anti-infective OMN6 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Fast track expedited review is designated to investigational drugs that treat a serious or life-threatening condition and fill an unmet medical need.
OMN6 is Omnix Medical´s lead compound and a novel, first-in-class antimicrobial peptide (AMP) based on insect host defense peptides. Its mechanism of action (MoA) fundamentally differs from conventional anti-infectives by physically destroying bacterial cell membranes and allowing a fast and effective onset of action regardless of bacterial genotype or resistance phenotype.
In November 2023, Omnix Medical had been granted an IND for a Phase II trial of OMN6 in patients with hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) caused by Acinetobacter baumannii complex (ABC). Both are life-threatening infections that currently lack fast and effective treatments, most of which fall short due to antimicrobial resistances.
“We are excited that the U.S. FDA has granted fast-track designation for our lead compound OMN6,” said Dr. Moshik Cohen-Kutner, CEO of Omnix Medical. “This allows us to accelerate the development of game-changing anti-infectives that are designed to be fast-acting and effective without triggering antimicrobial resistances. We are looking forward to obtaining Phase II results.”
“The fast-track designation brings us one step closer to saving the lives of patients with life-threatening hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) that do not respond to conventional antibiotics and currently have no further therapeutic options,” added Niv Bachnoff, CSO of Omnix Medical.
###
About Omnix Medical
Omnix Medical was founded in 2015 to address the urgent unmet need for new life-saving anti-infective drugs. Omnix´ proprietary technology eliminates bacteria by mimicking the innate immune system of insects which uses unique molecules to efficiently and selectively kill resistant bacterial strains without toxic effects. This mechanism, which is at the core of Omnix´ technology, kills bacteria upon contact and has successfully evolved over 200 million years. The Company’s lead compound is being developed for the treatment of life-threatening hospital-acquired infections (HIA) and has shown significantly higher potency than currently available treatments. Most importantly, Omnix´ technology prevents the development of new resistances and is thus well positioned to become the first-line-treatment to win the war against AMR.
About OMN6
OMN6 is a novel, first-in-class antimicrobial peptide (AMP) based on insect host defense peptides. Its mechanism of action (MoA) is based on disruption of bacterial cell membranes and is therefore effective regardless of bacterial genotype or resistance phenotype, and unlike conventional bacteriostatic antibiotics, it is fast acting and bactericidal. OMN6 has been optimized from the original AMP by Omnix Medical´s proprietary technology to exhibit not only remarkable efficacy, potency, and safety, but also high stability while maintaining bioactivity. As a result, Omnix Medical believes that its novel peptides can be considered a new class of antimicrobial drugs. OMN6, the Company’s lead compound, is intended for the treatment of life-threatening infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii.