BioVersys and Hackensack Meridian Health partner on novel ansamycin molecules for non-tuberculous mycobacteria

Novel ansamycin small molecules developed at New Jersey's Hackensack Meridian Health's Center for Discovery and Innovation are moving into joint profiling and development under an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with BioVersys AG (SIX: BIOV). The deal targets non-tuberculous mycobacteria, a class of environmental pathogens responsible for difficult-to-treat pulmonary disease in patients with cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, and COPD. BioVersys, a Basel-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on MDR bacteria antibacterial drug development, will assume development responsibilities while Hackensack Meridian Health receives upfront and near-term payments plus royalties on future sales. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Deal context

The ansamycin candidates originate from research conducted by Dr. Thomas Dick and Dr. Véronique Dartois at HMH's Center for Discovery and Innovation, developed in collaboration with Dr. Courtney Aldrich at the University of Minnesota. The molecules are described by the company as orally bioavailable small molecules with in vitro and in vivo activity against NTM pathogens.

Ansamycins as a class act on bacterial RNA polymerase, the enzyme responsible for transcription; the archetypal member, rifampicin, is a cornerstone of tuberculosis therapy but lacks reliable activity against NTM species including Mycobacterium abscessus and Mycobacterium avium complex due to intrinsic resistance. The HMH-originated candidates are described as structurally novel derivatives designed to address that resistance gap.

NTM pulmonary disease affects approximately 250,000 people annually, predominantly in North America and Asia. Treatment requires prolonged multi-drug regimens lasting at least 12 months, and cure rates for NTM lung disease are reported as low as 30–50%. For Mycobacterium abscessus specifically, no therapy of predictable efficacy exists, and the pathogen carries mortality rates reported at up to 50%. The incidence of NTM infections among people with cystic fibrosis has risen from 3.3% to 22.6% in recent years, with Mycobacterium abscessus becoming more prevalent in that population.

The BioVersys ansamycin collaboration with HMH extends a platform the company has been building through research teams in Basel and Lille, France. BioVersys states that its internal Ansamycin Chemistry platform has already produced orally bioavailable broad-spectrum anti-NTM lead candidates with in vitro and in vivo activity. The HMH molecules are described as synergistic with that existing pool, adding novel chemical matter and expanding the range of structural series available for candidate selection.

The deal also permits development of antimicrobial agents beyond NTM, though no specific additional indications are named in the announcement.

BioVersys' broader pipeline provides context for where this discovery-stage program sits. The company's most advanced asset, BV100, is in Phase III for nosocomial infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii. Its tuberculosis candidate alpibectir is in Phase II in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline and a University of Lille consortium. The NTM program, designated BV500, sits earlier in development and is the subject of a separate global research collaboration with Shionogi, under which advanced leads are being progressed toward candidate selection. The HMH agreement feeds additional chemical matter into that same pipeline, enlarging the pool of candidates available before a development candidate is nominated.

HMH is a not-for-profit health network comprising 18 hospitals and more than 500 care locations across New Jersey. Its Center for Discovery and Innovation houses more than 34 laboratories and over 200 researchers focused on cancer, infectious diseases, and other conditions. The CDI's involvement in antibiotic discovery, particularly through the Dick and Dartois laboratories, represents a research focus that has produced compounds now entering industry-partnered development through this agreement.

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