New hope for patients with nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease
NovoBiotic is developing teixobactin, a first-in-class antibiotic, to treat lung disease caused byMycobacteroides abscessus (Mab) — the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat NTM pathogen. No treatments are currently approved for Mab lung disease. Patients today are treated off-label with combinations of older antibiotics that often fail and are hard to tolerate.
NTM — a disease that needs new options for patients
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacteria that can cause chronic, progressive lung infections, most often in people with underlying lung disease such as cystic fibrosis or bronchiectasis. Among NTM species, Mycobacteroides abscessus (Mab) is considered the most aggressive and the hardest to treat.
Why current treatment fails patients
There is no approved drug for Mab lung disease. Physicians instead prescribe off-label, older antibiotics originally developed for other infections. These regimens:
- Are built on drug classes NTM is often intrinsically resistant to, because of the bacteria's thick, impermeable cell wall
- Frequently cause side effects serious enough that patients stop treatment
- Often fail to clear the infection, allowing it to worsen, become chronic, and require 18 months of treatment or more
The result is a patient population living with a persistent lung infection, cycling through long, difficult drug regimens with no guarantee of success.
What patients need
A therapy that kills Mab reliably, that the bacteria cannot easily outmaneuver with resistance, and that can be delivered without the systemic side effects that make today's regimens so hard to complete. Teixobactin closes this gap.
Our approach
A new way to kill a hard-to-kill bacterium
Teixobactin is a first-in-class antibiotic with a distinct mode of action against the bacterial cell envelope. Rather than relying on a single target — the way most existing antibiotics do, and the reason resistance develops so readily — teixobactin attacks through two independent mechanisms at once. Laboratory studies measuring how readily Mab develops resistance to teixobactin found the frequency to be extremely low, consistent with the compound's dual mechanism of action.
Built for the lung
NTM lung disease lives in the lung, so we are developing teixobactin as an inhaled therapy. Delivering the drug directly to the site of infection:
- Concentrates teixobactin where it's needed most
- Limits systemic exposure and the side effects that come with it
- Takes advantage of teixobactin's long retention time in lung tissue, which may allow less frequent dosing than current regimens
What the data show so far
In laboratory testing, teixobactin was potent against a panel of clinically important NTM species, including Mab. In animal models of both acute and chronic Mab lung infection, intratracheal delivery of teixobactin reduced the bacterial burden in the lungs. These results, together with a broad package of preclinical safety studies, support advancing teixobactin toward first-in-human trials.
Pipeline
We start with patients whose infections have no approved treatment options — and build programs to change that.
Teixobactin has shown promise in several preclinical studies, including efficacy in acute and chronic animal models of Mab lung infection.
Our mission
NovoBiotic exists to give patients with Mab lung disease a safe and effective option. We are focused entirely on turning teixobactin's preclinical promise into a therapy that can reach patients.
Origin
Teixobactin was discovered and advanced through preclinical development by NovoBiotic. The program's scientific foundation and preclinical leadership come from the company's founder, Kim Lewis, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and Director of the Antimicrobial Discovery Center at Northeastern University, and a world-recognized expert in antimicrobial resistance.
Leadership
Extensive Experience in NTM Drug Development
Cristina Larkin
Chief Executive OfficerExperienced in raising capital, strategy, and advancing anti-infective drugs from preclinical development through NDA submission. Previously COO at Spero Therapeutics.
Dallas Hughes, Ph.D.
President and Chief Science OfficerLed discovery and preclinical development of teixobactin.
Paul Eckburg, M.D.
Chief Medical OfficerAn infectious diseases physician with 25 years of drug development experience. Previously CMO at AN2 Therapeutics.
Elena Chekhova, Ph.D.
Chief Operations OfficerExperienced in program leadership and management across discovery, preclinical studies, CMC, and clinical development.
Advisors
Kevin Winthrop, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Oregon Health & Science University
A leading global expert in NTM lung disease.
Kim Lewis, Ph.D.
Founder, NovoBiotic
University Distinguished Professor and Director, Antimicrobial Discovery Center, Northeastern University.
Nani Kadrichu
Formulation Expert
Recognized aerosol science expert with 25+ years of technical and regulatory expertise in drug/device combination products; inventor of complex pulmonary delivery platforms and novel aerosol characterization methods.
Let's Build the Next Class of Medicines
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