Merck & Co – known as MSD outside the US and Canada – and the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (Gates MRI) have announced a licensing agreement for two preclinical tuberculosis (TB) antibiotic candidates, MK-7762 and MK-3854.
The candidates were discovered by Merck scientists as part of the TB Drug Accelerator (TBDA), a collaboration among biopharmaceutical companies, research organisations and universities to accelerate the discovery and development of novel therapeutic candidates against TB.
TB is one of the leading causes of death from an infectious disease worldwide, responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths per year.
Currently, the most commonly used drug regimen for the treatment of drug-sensitive TB requires patients to take multiple drugs for up to six months with routine clinical monitoring. Moreover, patients with drug-resistant forms of the infection can face longer and more complex treatment journeys, often with significant side effects that require increased monitoring.
‘A substantially shorter drug regimen for the treatment of both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant forms of TB could provide a significant benefit to both patients and health systems and may overcome the need for accompanying drug-resistance testing,’ Merck outlined in a statement.
Under the agreement, Merck has granted an exclusive global licence for MK-7762 and MK-3854 to the Gates MRI, which will conduct non-clinical and clinical studies of these candidates to determine their potential for inclusion in new affordable combination treatment regimens for TB with the aim of shortening the duration of treatment irrespective of resistance to the currently available TB drugs.
In vitro and in vivo evaluations of MK-7762 and MK-3854 have shown that both candidates have potent antibacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes TB, including some strains known to be resistant to current therapies.
Dr Emilio Emini, chief executive officer, the Gates MRI, said: “The development of novel therapies to simplify and more effectively treat TB has been a long-standing goal of scientific and medical research.
“The two novel compounds discovered by Merck scientists, and now licensed to the Gates MRI for further development and distribution, may represent potentially important constituents of future TB therapeutic regimens.”
Also commenting on the agreement, Dr Dean Y Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, said: “With the expertise and capabilities of the Gates MRI, MK-7762 and MK-3854 are positioned for rigorous evaluation of their potential as components of novel TB treatment regimens.”