Research & Development

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals accomplished team of medicinal chemists, microbiologists, and biophysicists employ a rational drug design strategy to the discovery and development of early-stage clinical candidates for the treatment of highly drug-resistant forms of bacterial infections.  To date, the team has designed and is in the process of implementing 5 unique series of chemical compounds targeting the essential bacterial cell division protein, FtsZ.

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals family of compounds selectively target the FtsZ protein, thereby inhibiting FtsZ-catalyzed GTP hydrolysis, FtsZ polymerization, the formation of FtsZ Z-rings, and cell division, and ultimately resulting in bacterial cell death.

Discovery Research

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals utilizes a structure-guided design approach in developing compounds that are potent FtsZ-targeting antibacterial agents. By utilizing the predictive power of sophisticated computational techniques and developing high-throughput screening assays, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals has streamlined its discovery initiatives by focusing on compounds that exhibit the key properties required for a clinical drug candidate. In advancing leads toward the clinic, drug candidates are optimized based on quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs).

The majority of discovery and development research forwarded by TAXIS Pharmaceuticals occurs at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Rutgers University, funded through cooperative research agreements between TAXIS Pharmaceuticals and the two Universities. TAXIS Pharmaceuticals is in the process of expanding its medicinal chemistry capacity through hiring and expansion of its outsourcing programs.

 

Preclinical Development

Once a new compound is synthesized, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals can carry development in-house from in vitro antibacterial and FtsZ-targeting activity to formulation and preliminary in vivo animal efficacy studies. Until proof-of-concept in vivo efficacy is achieved, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals will manage most or all discovery and development internally.

Ongoing Research

In parallel with the development of its initial chemical series aimed at developing therapeutic alternatives to vancomycin and linezolid for the treatment of MRSA and VRE infections, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals has begun work on a number of subsequent chemical series with the goal of identifying good drug candidates for the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections. Additional goals of forward-looking research initiatives include:

• Identify anti-bioterrorism candidates
• Identify orally bioavailable drug candidates
• Optimize formulation of iv drug candidates
• Life cycle planning and development to combat future resistance crises