Monday, November 19, 2001

Biomed Rounds: Combining good management with strong science

By Adria Cimino

Microbiotix Inc., a biotech company presenting at the recent Springboard Enterprises venture capital forum, is an example of the management experience and strong science found in most of the up-and-coming companies in the industry.

Co-founder Wendy Rieder has been in the biotech business for 10 years and started two other companies prior to this endeavor. Microbiotix, founded in Worcester in 1998, is focused on the development of antibiotic and antiviral therapeutics.

Now the obvious question is whether or not this company has plans to develop an anthrax treatment. The answer, of course, is yes.

Microbiotix has already screened some of its compounds against agents similar to anthrax and has seen encouraging results.

But the company is not just jumping on the anthrax bandwagon. Its real goal is to solve a widespread problem that the medical field has been predicting for years: antibiotic resistance.

The Cipro situation illustrates the challenge Microbiotix is addressing - and the advice applies to all antibiotics and all bacterial infections.

Doctors have been ordering people not to take Cipro as a "preventative measure" against anthrax for two reasons. First, the side effects could be very harmful. But maybe more important, overuse of an antibiotic can create immunity to it.

That is why Microbiotix is developing drugs that have a mechanism different from that of today's antibiotics.

Microbiotix's drugs have two different methods of action: they stop pathogen replication at the genomic level or prevent viral entry by blocking surface proteins. The company expects to file an investigational New Drug application with the Food and Drug Administration by the end of 2003.

With major diseases such as cancer and HIV affecting so many people, it is often easy to forget about the threat of bacteria.

But if antibiotics lose much of their power, we lose much of our defense. The antibacterial area might not seem crucial today, but in the future new ways of fighting bacterial infections could prove critical.

Microbiotix is hoping to raise $10 million to advance its products. In light of widespread economic woes, the idea of taking a young company through several rounds of financing might make some cringe.

The general economic malaise has not left biotech unscathed, but the sector apparently is as attractive as ever to investors.

Biotech garnered more venture funding this year than last year, said Janice Bourque, president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. Bourque said she wouldn't be surprised if biotech companies lead the reopening of the IPO window. If products are ready and the companies are at a stage where an IPO would be a reasonable, it seems like a likely scenario.

Emily J. Levy, a consultant to biotech and healthcare companies, says the savvy nature of those in the biotech industry have sustained it through troubled times. Being a biotech entrepreneur asking for financing is "certainly better than if you were trying to start a B2B or B2C dot-com," she said. "We've weathered this storm a little better (than others)."

Adria Cimino reports on biotechnology and medical devices. She can be reached at acimino@masshightech.com.