Summit’s Pipeline Expands with Series of New Mechanism Antibiotics Targeting Enterobacteriaceae


Summit Therapeutics plc 
(‘Summit’ or the ’Company’)

Summit’s Pipeline Expands with Series of New Mechanism Antibiotics Targeting Enterobacteriaceae  

  • Data to be Presented in Oral Session at ECCMID 2019

Oxford, UK, and Cambridge, MA, US, 3 April 2019 – Summit Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: SMMT, AIM: SUMM), a leader in new mechanism antibiotic innovation, today announces the expansion of its pipeline with a series of new mechanism antibiotics, DDS-04, which targets Enterobacteriaceae. Key data from this series will be presented in an oral session at the 29th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (‘ECCMID’), taking place 13-16 April 2019 in Amsterdam.

“The DDS-04 series provides us with a major opportunity to improve patient outcomes across several body sites where Enterobacteriaceae cause infection,” said Dr David Roblin, President of R&D of Summit. “We look forward to developing the programme to show compelling clinical and economic data that offer significant advantages over standard of care for the patients in need.”

Summit’s DDS-04 series of new mechanism antibiotic compounds acts specifically on Enterobacteriaceae via LolCDE, an unexploited bacterial target. It is the first project to emerge from the Company’s ESKAPE pathogen programme. Enterobacteriaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria, which include the critical threats Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. These bacteria are responsible for a large number of severe and often deadly infections of the bloodstream, lungs and urinary tract. The DDS-04 series has shown activity across a global panel of K. pneumoniae and E. coli strains, including strains resistant to current standard of care treatments.

Details of the presentation are as follows:

Date: 14 April 2019
Time: 1:42pm CEST
Session: Novel antimicrobial agents and discovery strategies
Location: Hall M
Title: Novel Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Bacterial Lipoprotein Transport with Potent Antimicrobial Activity against Enterobacteriaceae
Authors: E. Breidenstein, O. Abdulle, T. Avis, C. Charrier, C. Ciardullo, C. Coward, T. Duffy, N. Khan, C. Mason, P. Meo and D. Powell

About Enterobacteriaceae
Enterobacteriaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria responsible for a large number of severe and often deadly infections of the bloodstream, lungs and urinary tract. Increasing resistance of Enterobacteriaceae has rendered many marketed antibiotics ineffective against these bacteria. Two of the most alarming antibiotic resistance trends are extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). ESBL is an enzyme that allows bacteria to become resistant to a wide variety of penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics. ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae account for an estimated 26,000 infections annually in the US with 1,700 deaths, according to the US Centers for Drug Control and Prevention (‘CDC’). CRE are resistant to nearly all existing antibiotics, including carbapenems which are considered the antibiotics of last resort. CRE account for an estimated 9,000 infections per year in the US and 600 deaths, according to the CDC.

About Summit Therapeutics
Summit Therapeutics is a leader in antibiotic innovation. Our new mechanism antibiotics are designed to become the new standards of care for the benefit of patients and create value for payors and healthcare providers. We are currently developing new mechanism antibiotics for infections caused by C. difficile, N. gonorrhoeae and ESKAPE pathogens. We are using our proprietary Discuva Platform to expand our pipeline. For more information, visit www.summitplc.com and follow us on Twitter @summitplc.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (MAR).

Contacts

Summit  
Glyn Edwards / Richard Pye (UK office)Tel:44 (0)1235 443 951
Michelle Avery (US office) +1 617 225 4455
   
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP (Nominated Adviser)Tel:+44 (0)20 7213 0880
Liam Murray / Tony Rawlinson  
   
N+1 Singer (Joint Broker)Tel:+44 (0)20 7496 3000
Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer, Corporate Finance
Tom Salvesen, Corporate Broking
  
   
Bryan Garnier & Co Limited (Joint Broker)Tel:+44 (0)20 7332 2500
Phil Walker / Dominic Wilson

 
  
MSL Group (US)Tel:+1 781 684 6557
Jon Siegal summit@mslgroup.com
   
Consilium Strategic Communications (UK)Tel:+44 (0)20 3709 5700
Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart / Jessica Hodgson / summit@consilium-comms.com
Lindsey Neville  

Summit Forward-looking Statements

Any statements in this press release about the Company’s future expectations, plans and prospects, including but not limited to, statements about the clinical and preclinical development of the Company’s product candidates, the therapeutic potential of the Company’s product candidates, the potential commercialisation of the Company’s product candidates, the sufficiency of the Company’s cash resources, the timing of initiation, completion and availability of data from clinical trials, the potential submission of applications for marketing approvals and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "would," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing and future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether preliminary results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of that trial or whether results of early clinical trials or preclinical studies will be indicative of the results of later clinical trials, expectations for regulatory approvals, laws and regulations affecting government contracts and funding awards, availability of funding sufficient for the Company’s foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended 31 January 2018. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. In addition, any forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this press release.

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