Achaogen Inc (NASDAQ:AKAO) has announced that it has received funding from CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), as part of their new collaborative efforts.
Achaogen was chosen among 368 research groups and companies that from all over the world, thus winning the opportunity to receive funding that will assist in the development of its LpxC inhibitor. The late-stage biopharmaceutical company will receive the award of $3.2 million which it will receive over a period of 12 months. The firm will also be awarded $11.4 million after the one-year duration once it achieves various milestones.
“We are honored to have CARB-X’s support in helping to advance our lead LpxC inhibitor through initial Phase 1 clinical trials, and we are hopeful that our approach to disrupting the bacterial outer membrane may yield a new way to protect patients from bacterial infections,” stated Kenneth Hillan, the CEO of Achaogen.
Pushing deeper into solutions for drug resistant infections
CARB-X’s executive director Kevin Outterson pointed out that Drug-resistant infections have proved to be costly, time-consuming and challenging, thus the need to restore research and development. This will make it easier to treat or address such infections. He also noted that drug-resistant infections have been a global problem, and his organization has played a key part in seeking solutions.
Outterson also mentioned that there is a lot of potential in the ongoing projects, though they demand global support from industries and governments. Achaogen also announced that its board of directors has issued new employment inducement grants to 11 employees. They were given the option of purchasing a total of 51,825 shares from the company’s pool of common stock as well as 20,089 restricted stock units.
The exercise price for each of the stock options will be $22.31 per share as per the stock closing price during the announcement of the grant. The company will award the grant under the 2014 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan which was given the go-ahead by the board of directors December 2014 in pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of The Nasdaq Global Market for equity.
Achaogen stock closed the latest trading session on Tuesday at $19.90.