Roche ends antibiotic deal with Polyphor

Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) said it will discontinue its partnership with Polyphor Ltd. (Allschwil, Switzerland) to develop and commercialize POL7080 to treat bacterial infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Roche said its decision to return POL7080 rights to Polyphor was based on its assessment of the compound's progress.

Polyphor CFO and Head of Corporate Development Adesh Kaul told BioCentury the company will continue its ongoing open-label Phase II PK study of POL7080 to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) with confirmed P. aeruginosa and plans to meet with regulatory authorities over the next year to discuss the design of a pivotal trial. POL7080 is a synthetic cyclo-peptide antibiotic targeting the Pseudomonas LPS-assembly protein (OstA; LptD; Imp). ...