Partnership advances fight against antibiotic-resistant infections

Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea is a looming global crisis, infecting more than 120 million people each year. With no vaccine and few treatment options, it has earned a place on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's list of most urgent pathogens in need of new therapies.

That's why Virginia Tech bacteriologist Mohamed Seleem was excited when TAXIS Pharmaceuticals reached out to discuss a potential collaboration.

Seleem has worked diligently for many years with his laboratory colleagues to find and test compounds that may help fight disease pathogens that are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

In May, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded TAXIS a $2.9 million grant to further advance research and development efforts for its dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors as a novel approach to combat multi-drug-resistant gonorrhea, with the Seleem Laboratory at Virginia Tech as a sub-awardee.

"What makes this collaboration exciting is that there's a good chance you will be developing a drug that will hit the market at some point," said Seleem, the Tyler J. and Frances F. Young Chair in Bacteriology and director of the Center for One Health Research at Virginia Tech. "That would be pretty special. If you ask any researchers, probably having a drug they worked on reach the market is one of the most exciting things, because of the huge potential impact it can have on the patient and the public in general."

TAXIS Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Miami, with a dedicated research facility in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey. TAXIS' stated mission is to eliminate the threat of current and emerging antimicrobial resistance across a broad spectrum of infectious diseases.

"Dr. Seleem stands out as a leading authority in multi-drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections — a critical and growing global health threat," said Ajit K. Parhi, chief scientific officer at TAXIS Pharmaceuticals. "We have long followed his groundbreaking work through his publications, and our collaboration with him and Virginia Tech on this NIH-funded research — not to mention other opportunities for future collaborations — is a cornerstone of our current progress."

Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which infects the reproductive tract in women and men. The bacteria can also establish infection in the mouth, throat, eyes, and rectum. 

It is becoming increasingly difficult to treat gonorrhea, as there is no vaccine, and strains of the bacteria are becoming ever more resistant to existing antibiotics that have been in use for more than two decades.

Additionally, currently used antibiotics often also kill some of the body's helpful microorganisms, exposing patients to diseases and health issues that can potentially more harmful than gonorrhea. 

"In this particular project, TAXIS developed compounds to inhibit a specific, essential enzyme in Neisseria gonorrhoeae," said Seleem. "TAXIS' investigational therapy targets an enzyme that will not hurt the microbiota in humans and is intended to very specifically target Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Our role is to make sure this class of compounds works against the microorganism, can kill the microorganism, and will be effective in animal models in clearing infection."

Urgent pathogen

"It's a microorganism that became resistant to every single antibiotic in the market, and, in some cases, there is no available treatment. It spreads very quickly; about 120 million people worldwide are infected every year with Neisseria gonorrhoeae," Seleem said. "That's why it's on the urgent list. For almost 25 years, we haven't had any new antibiotics to treat this condition. There are some therapies currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, but they are still a long way from being approved." 

Enter TAXIS.

"The overarching goal of TAXIS' collaboration with Dr. Seleem's laboratory is to accelerate the development of first-in-class therapies against high-priority, drug-resistant pathogens including Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Clostridioides difficile, and invasive fungal species," said Parhi. 

Benefits of private-academic collaboration

The Seleem lab also entered into another collaboration in 2023, also supported by an NIH grant, with Nectagen Inc., to study whether synthetic proteins developed by Nectagen can reduce the toxicity of Clostridioides difficile, or C diff, in the digestive system. 

"I like working with these companies because they are product oriented," Seleem said. "They want to develop a drug and put it on the market. It's not like academia, where we focus a lot on basic science. The research that needs to be done to bring a product to market is very different. So we may have to slow down on the basic science and do some research or an experiment that helps put the drug in the pipeline toward approval. That's different than what we do as academia, and that's what makes the work interesting."

Still, the underlying science undertaken and published by academia is a foundation for the more product-focused research. 

"Without basic science, we wouldn't be able to do this kind of work," Seleem said. "This kind of product-oriented work is built on the basic science that we have already developed, or that academia developed years ago. What the biotech companies do is utilize the research or basic science that has already been done in academia and build on that to take the product forward."

Working with private companies also frees up sources of funding that might not be available to the Seleem Laboratory in conducting typical academic inquiries. 

"Funding for startup companies is different than funding for academia, because it's product oriented, and you have to have a final product, or improve a product," Seleem said. "It's milestone driven, so you need to achieve certain steps to get the funding and move forward. In academia, we cannot apply for this specific funding for industry. But when a startup company works in collaboration with academia, our support provides essential services that many startups cannot execute on their own."

In return, companies like TAXIS gain access to expertise and facilities they would not otherwise have for research and development of their products. 

"Through this collaboration, TAXIS gains access to sophisticated models and techniques that would be prohibitively difficult and time-consuming to establish internally," Parhi said. "Additionally, partnering with a respected academic expert enhances the credibility of our findings and increases the likelihood of successful future grant funding and peer-reviewed publications. This visibility helps startups attract investor interest, regulatory confidence, and potential partnership opportunities."

Collaboration matters

"Collaboration between academia and industry is so beneficial — we complement, rather than compete with, one another," Seleem said. "They have a product they would like to move forward and we have the animal model and the facility they need. That's what makes these types of collaborations successful. Everyone benefits." 

One important aspect of working with the Seleem lab is the unique animal model it has developed.

"For Neisseria gonorrhoeae, in particular, the challenge lies beyond standard microbiological techniques," Parhi said. "Dr. Seleem's lab has established one of the few validated in vivo efficacy models for this pathogen globally. This model is exceptionally difficult to reproduce, and TAXIS solely depends on his lab in this regard."