Aurobac Therapeutics launched to fight antimicrobial resistance

Headquartered in Lyon, France, Aurobac Therapeutics aims to develop a new precision medicine approach to antibiotic treatment, from diagnosis to cure.

The joint-venture is majority-funded by Boehringer Ingelheim (€30 million), with life science company Evotec and diagnostics specialist bioMérieux contributing €5 million each. 

”Antibiotic resistance kills about 1.27 million people globally every year and it has been estimated that by 2050, as many as 10 million worldwide deaths could result from [antimicrobial resistance] AMR, making it potentially deadlier than cancer,” commented Michel Pairet, Head of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Innovation Unit and Member of the Board of Managing Directors. 

Antibiotic treatment regimens currently lean heavily on empirical approaches using broad-spectrum and unfocused medicines. 

The goal is to turn this into a precision approach, using new highly effective and targeted modalities, combined with rapid and actionable diagnostics to quickly identify pathogens and their resistance patterns, and supported by new economic models.

Aurobac Therapeutics will combine the best capabilities of the three founding companies, according to a statement. 

“By leveraging Evotec’s multimodality approach to infectious diseases, we are confident that Aurobac will be able to generate much-needed progress to tackle the global challenge of AMR,” stated Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec 

Evotec has built a world-leading platform to tackle infectious diseases, and has experience on multiple agent classes.

bioMérieux will leverage its diagnostics capabilities. 

“Our role within the joint venture is to develop and commercialise diagnostic tests, including Companion Diagnostics, which deliver rapid, reliable and actionable results,” added Alexandre Mérieux, bioMérieux Chairman and CEO. “This participation in Aurobac is perfectly aligned with bioMérieux’ full commitment to sustain antibiotic efficacy for future generations.” 

Boehringer Ingelheim said its participation in Aurobac Therapeutics is part of a wider pandemic preparedness initiative, which includes a €50 million investment in an AMR action fund. The Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund has committed to invest up to €12 million in AMR infection companies.

In June, the AMR Industry Alliance published a new Antibiotic Manufacturing Standard, aimed at combatting the spread of AMR in the environment.