PORTFOLIO

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Bugworks Research, Inc.

  • CEO & Co-founder:
    Dr. Anand AnandKumar

URL:https://bugworksresearch.com/

COMPANY PROFILE

Novel Class of Antibiotics to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and novel Immuno-oncology therapies to fight cancer

Superbugs - microorganisms resistant to antibiotics - cause life-treating illnesses. By 2050, drug-resistant infections are projected to kill ~10 million people per year. Bugworks aims to tackle this global Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) crisis by developing a novel class of antibiotics exhibiting broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive infections. Using the proprietary ELUDE™ platform, Bugworks has come up with a first-in-class antibiotic series named GYROX that is effective on all known classes of drug-resistant bacteria. Bugworks is the first Asian company to win the prestigious CARB-X grant, amounting to over $10M. Bugworks has successfully completely pre-clinical studies of their lead asset GYROX-1 (Intravenous for Critical care infections).

COMPANY STORY

Origin

Bugworks was started in 2014 by industry veterans Dr. Anand Anankumar, Dr. Santanu Datta and Dr. V Balasubramanian to tackle the issue of global Anti-Microbial Resistance(AMR).  In July 2017, Bugworks became the first Asian company to win the prestigious CARB-X grant. The Bugworks Research lab in Bangalore, India has a team of several scientists and PhDs with a combined experience over 200 years in drug discovery. Bugworks has an extended team in US, Japan, UK, and Australia.

Strength

GYROX – Dual Targeting first & best-in-class broad spectrum antibacterial agents. The lead GYROX compound BWC0977 is undergoing Phase 1 trials in Australia. 
Novel immuno-oncology small molecule compounds with DARE (Dual acting Adenosine Receptor antagonist Efficacy).

UTEC’s value add

UTEC provided Bugworks collaborative opportunities with Japan by introducing Japanese pharmaceutical companies, as well as Japanese academics such as Prof. Satoshi Murakami at Tokyo Institute of Technology, who clarified the crystal structure of multidrug release transporter AcrB as the company's Scientific Advisor. UTEC also supports Bugworks by offering financial advisory and fundraising support.
  • Proprietary ELUDE™ platform of Bugworks