New tuberculosis drug with proven efficacy developed

Print 14 March 2018
Marchmont Innovation News

Infectex, a Russian biomed company, has come up with a new drug candidate, designated SQ109, which is “unparalleled elsewhere in the world,” as the developers said. Clinical trials for the candidate were completed in 2017. Infectex claims this is the first new proven drug for tuberculosis in the global market in four decades. 

The 2b-3 phase clinical trials were conducted in seven clinical centers in Russia and took six months. A reported 140 patients completed active therapy and showed quantifiable improvements. 

The SQ109 is reported to have demonstrated safety, efficacy, and good tolerance. Tests have proved that by the end of the sixth month the SQ109-testing patient group, combining the candidate with conventional therapy, showed an up to 80% bacterial generation reduction rate, compared to 61% in a conventional approach plus placebo. 

The SQ109 is a small 1,2-ethylenediamine molecule which is said to possess three unique action mechanisms that differ from those of other antibiotics used in tuberculosis therapy.

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