New Board Member and Advisor Bring Deep Experience Securing Public Funding for Urgent Public Health Needs
May 23, 2023, Redwood City, CA, USA-Â Fe Pharmaceuticals has raised a SEED investment to continue developing DIBI, a non-toxic, iron-binding copolymer, as a potent, broad-spectrum, antimicrobial agent active against bacterial and fungal infections, including drug-resistant organisms and as a potential anti-inflammatory and cancer therapy.
The investment was led by Bob Klein, Chairman of the Americans for Cures Action Network (formerly California Stem Cell Research & Cures Initiative) and Chair, Emeritus of the Governing Board of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) where he also was responsible for the original Proposition 71, the $3 billion bond measure creating CIRM. Mr. Klein will be a Senior Advisor to the Fe Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors. His son Rob Klein, who recently managed the 2020 reauthorization of CIRM through the passage of a $5.5 billion California Prop 14 bond initiative, will join the Board of Directors. Both have been very active in bringing attention and funding to many other under-supported public health needs.Fe Pharmaceuticals is developing an experimental therapeutic agent, DIBI, to manage iron in diseases where it plays a key role, like serious infections, cancer, and inflammatory disorders. DIBI is an iron-binding co-polymer that has shown proof-of-concept in a variety of infectious and inflammatory disease models and in vitro activity against breast cancer cell lines, leading to 27 peer-reviewed scientific publications to date.
DIBI is in preclinical development for serious infections and is equally effective against antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacterial and fungal pathogens. Antibiotic resistance is one of the most urgent threats to public health, and according to the CDC, each year in the United States, at least 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant germs, and at least 35,000 die. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise in antimicrobial-resistant infections.
DIBI’s combination of antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity is also attractive to prevent sepsis and the extreme mortality associated with it. Sepsis claims at least 275,000 lives annually in the US, mostly in hospitalized patients, where it is the largest cause of mortality, and claims 11 million lives worldwide each year, far more than the entire COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recognize that the scourges of antibiotic-resistant infections and sepsis are not getting the investment attention commensurate with the threat they pose to public health,” said Bob Klein. “I am encouraged by the novel approach Fe Pharmaceuticals is taking because it is so effective in animals, against drug-resistant infections and sepsis, and we hope to help raise awareness of this very promising therapeutic approach in the public health arena, as we have done for other critical health needs.”
“We are delighted to have Bob and his son Rob not only as investors but, more importantly, bringing their acumen and the attention of their networks to our lack of preparedness for a world of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and our extraordinary approach to address this,” said Michael Weickert, CEO of Fe Pharmaceuticals.
About DIBI
DIBI is a non-toxic, iron-binding co-polymer with potent, broad-spectrum, antimicrobial activity against fungal and bacterial infections, including those caused by drug-resistant organisms. DIBI exploits the absolute requirement of pathogens for iron to grow and reproduce. DIBI scavenges only the circulating iron required for infections and not the iron inside host cells. DIBI is non-toxic, removes iron in a manner pathogens cannot become resistant to, is very broad spectrum and very potent, with sub-µM MICs (minimum inhibitory concentrations) against even drug-resistant pathogens like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter baumannii. In multiple peer-reviewed studies using animal models of infection, including of the ear, skin, lung, and systemic, it was effective against bacterial and fungal species, with synergistic benefits when administered with conventional anti-infective agents. In animal models of sepsis, DIBI also down-regulated excess cytokine release and promoted survival, acting synergistically with antibiotics. Iron sequestration has applications in other diseases, and in published cancer research, DIBI inhibits cancer cell growth and acts as a strong sensitizer to conventional chemotherapy.
About Fe Pharmaceuticals
Fe Pharmaceuticals (Canada) is a Nova Scotia, Canada company focused on medical indications related to iron availability, including infectious and inflammatory diseases and cancer. Fe Pharmaceuticals is a US subsidiary located in the San Francisco Bay area. Fe’s lead product candidate DIBI fits the ideal product profile for an anti-pathogen agent and is currently in preclinical development.
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