AiCuris and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) sign Collaboration and License Option Agreement – Biotech Investments

AiCuris and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) sign Collaboration and License Option Agreement

• A new public-private collaboration aims to discover new active agents for treatment and prophylaxis of infections of immunocompromised patients.
• AiCuris will have the option to in-license the new treatment approaches resulting from this partnership for further development and worldwide commercialisation.
• The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) pools the expertise of over 500 researchers from 35 member institutions in a wide range of infection research areas, including “Infections of the Immunocompromised Host”, making it the ideal partner for AiCuris.

Wuppertal and Braunschweig, Germany, January 24, 2024 – AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have announced the signing of a collaboration and license option agreement today. As part of the collaboration, DZIF and AiCuris will jointly work on the identification of novel targets for antiviral therapy and the discovery of new active agents for the treatment and prophylaxis of infections of immunocompromised patients. AiCuris, a leading clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutic candidates for the prevention and treatment of severe and potentially life-threatening infectious diseases in immunocompromised patients, will have the option to in-license resulting compounds for further development and worldwide commercialisation.

“We are excited about the partnership with the German Center for Infection Research as it provides us with the opportunity to combine exceptional German antiviral research with our development capabilities and clinical expertise to develop novel therapies for patients with proven high medical need,” says Dr Holger Zimmermann, Chief Research and Development Officer of AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG. “We look forward to collaborating with these leading scientists.”

“With its clear focus on the development of antiviral medicines to treat immunocompromised patients and its proven track record in bringing drugs through preclinical and clinical development to the market, the collaboration with AiCuris provides a great opportunity for DZIF,” Prof. Dirk Busch, Chair of the Executive Board of the German Center for Infection Research, DZIF, adds. “It will enable us to incorporate clinical and market considerations already in our early-stage projects, thus strengthening DZIF’s focus on translating scientific findings into clinical applications. We look forward to optimally utilising resources at both AiCuris and DZIF to advance projects and bring research results to patients.”

Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.

About the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF, Deutsches Zentrum für Infektionsforschung)

Founded in 2012 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Center for Infection Research today pools the expertise of more than 500 researchers from 35 public university and non-university member institutions in seven locations in Germany. 90% of the DZIF projects and programmes are paid for through federal funding, and 10% through participating federal states. In addition to the DZIF, there are five, soon to be seven, other German Centers for Health Research, each focused on combatting certain areas of common and widespread diseases.

The DZIF bundles projects in nine research areas, each dedicated to a pathogen, a specific disease or a common topic within infection research. Alongside “Emerging Infections”, “Healthcare-Associated and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections”, “Novel Antibiotics“, “HIV“, “Hepatitis“, “Tuberculosis” and “Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases“, the research areas comprise “Gastrointestinal Infections” and “Infections of the Immunocompromised Host“, all with the aim to effectively transfer research results into clinical application.

For more information, please visit www.dzif.de.

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About AiCuris Anti-infective Cures AG 

AiCuris aims to discover, develop, and deliver innovative, anti-viral drugs to immunocompromised patients aiming to prevent severe condition and life-threatening diseases.

The company has developed a commercial drug as well as a pipeline of clinical-stage and pre-clinical anti-viral candidates. Its lead product PREVYMIS® (letermovir), a first-in-class non-nucleoside cytomegalovirus (CMV) inhibitor, was licensed to MSD and is commercialised for the prevention of human CMV infections in immunocompromised patients who underwent an allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation or kidney transplantation. AiCuris’ wholly owned product candidate, Pritelivir, targeting resistant herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections in immunocompromised patients, is in phase III clinical development. Therapeutic candidates for the treatment of other virus infections such as BK virus and adenovirus are in earlier stages of development.

AiCuris is supported by a strong shareholder base, including lead investor SANTO Holding.  

For more information, please visit www.aicuris.com.

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