Qurient, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in South Korea, and TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of better, faster-acting and affordable tuberculosis drugs, have entered into a license agreement to develop and commercialize telacebec (Q203), a first-in-class orally available cytochrome bc1 inhibitor for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and other non-tuberculosis mycobacterium infections.
Under the terms of the license agreement TB Alliance obtains the exclusive worldwide license (except for South Korea, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries) to develop and commercialize telacebec for the treatment of tuberculosis and some non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) infections.
Kiyean Nam, Ph.D., CEO of Qurient, said: “As telacebec’s unique mechanism of action of blocking energy metabolism of the Mycobacterium can address all types of TB, including drug-resistant TB, we expect telacebec to potentially become an essential component of drug combination regimens for the treatment of TB.
“We believe telacebec will greatly contribute to the global efforts to combating the TB pandemic, which remains a serious public health challenge worldwide. Our partnership with the TB Alliance will accelerate the widespread availability of telacebec and bring it to those in need.”
Mel Spigelman, MD, president and CEO of TB Alliance, said: “TB Alliance is excited to partner with Qurient to bring about the next generation of TB cures. New drugs like telacebec are urgently needed in the fight against TB as well as certain NTM infections – compounds with potentially impactful novel mechanisms of action can have a significant benefit in combating the TB pandemic.
“If we expect to regain ground lost to COVID-19, we need to use every tool we have to give patients the best possible treatment and save lives. We look forward to advancing this new compound as part of combination regimens that could yield a short, simple, safe, and highly effective cure for all forms of TB.”
