NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Entasis Therapeutics, a spinoff of AstraZeneca, has signed an agreement with BioMérieux to incorporate BioFire FilmArray diagnostic tests into upcoming clinical trials. The multiplex pneumonia panel will be used in trials for a drug to combat carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, the BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia panel and instruments will be used in the global Phase III trial beginning in Q1 2019 to optimize enrollment.
"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our end-of-Phase II meeting with the FDA and excited to incorporate the BioFire System into our Phase III clinical trial," said Robin Isaacs, CMO of Entasis Therapeutics.
The trial will test an antibiotic referred to as ETX2514SUL, which targets A. baumannii infections. The FilmArray panel detects 33 targets, including semi-quantitative detection of 15 common bacteria that can colonize people and produce illness in high concentrations, including Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-baumannii complex.
The Pneumonia panel received FDA clearance and CE-Marking in November 2018 for testing directly from sputum, including endotracheal aspirate, as well as with bronchoalveolar lavage, including so-called mini-BAL sample types obtained by catheter sampling of the lungs through a breathing tube or tracheotomy.
Entasis is also developing an antibiotic targeting Neisseria gonorrhoeae and one targeting Enterobacteriaceae infections causing complications in urinary tract infections, the latter project having been funded by CARB-X, as well as developing a novel class of antibiotics targeting gram-negative infections.