Fosmanogepix

“This decision demonstrates that we are focused on stringent risk-return criteria when making portfolio decisions,” Basilea Pharmaceutica said.\n Basilea Pharmaceutica has cited its “stringent risk-return criteria” as a reason for not taking up its option to bring a MRSA antibiotic into clinical development.Basilea secured the license option for the endolysin antibiotic, called tonabacase, from Korea’s iNtRON Biotechnology in 2023. Basilea had been conducting a preclinical evaluation of the asset throughout 2024 ahead of a decision on whether to secure the exclusive rights to take tonabacase into human trials.When it signed the agreement with iNtRON, Basilea pointed to preclinical evidence of tonabacase’s activity against methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and MSSA) as well as coagulase-negative staphylococci.“There continues to be a high medical need for new treatment options for patients with persistent infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria and tonabacase is an exciting and innovative asset for us to evaluate over the coming months,” Basilea Chief Medical Officer Marc Engelhardt, M.D., said back in 2023. “If the outcome of our evaluation is positive and we enter into a full license agreement, we may be able to start directly a phase 2 clinical study in 2025.” That trial is now off the menu, as Basilea has completed its own preclinical profiling of the medicine and “taken the decision not to pursue further development,” the Swiss company said in its full-year earnings report.“This decision demonstrates that we are focused on stringent risk-return criteria when making portfolio decisions,” the company added.Basilea currently markets Cresemba for invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for bacterial infections. The low return on investment means many of the biggest biopharmas have given up working on new antifungals or antibiotics in recent years—although GSK in particular has continued to sign deals and post encouraging clinical results against infections like gonorrhea.Meanwhile, Basilea has swum against the tide, pivoting away from cancer toward anti-infectives last year. The company’s clinical pipeline is headed up by fosmanogepix, an antifungal licensed from Amplyx Pharmaceuticals that Basilea is planning to enter into its second phase 3 study against mold infections.Basilea’s work developing new antifungals received a significant boost last September from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which signed off on up to $268 million of funding to the biopharma over more than a decade.

Allschwil, Switzerland, January 08, 2025 Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, reported today on the progress of its Research & Development portfolio in 2024 and upcoming milestones. David Veitch, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have achieved several significant milestones in 2024. We partnered with a highly committed, focused and capable company for the commercialization of our anti-MRSA antibiotic, Zevtera, in the United States, following its approval earlier in the year. For our leading antifungal Cresemba, the European Commission expanded the approved uses to include treatment for pediatric patients. This not only made Cresemba available to children, but also extended its protection from generic competition in the EU until late 2027. We are also pleased to have been awarded very significant non-dilutive funding from BARDA and CARB-X to support the development of novel, first-in-class antifungals and antibacterials within our R&D portfolio. Finally, we laid the foundation for future growth by commencing a phase 3 study in invasive yeast infections with our potential next lead product, the broad-spectrum antifungal fosmanogepix. Throughout 2025, we aim to continue both progressing our current R&D assets and expanding our portfolio through targeted in-licensing and acquisition of innovative, commercially attractive, pre-clinical and clinical assets, addressing unmet medical needs in the treatment of severe fungal and bacterial diseases.” Maintaining its strong momentum, the commercial performance of Cresemba triggered several milestone payments to Basilea in 2024. By year-end 2024, Cresemba was marketed in more than 70 countries, including the United States (US), most EU member states, China and Japan. According to the latest available market data, total global in-market sales of Cresemba in the twelve-month period between October 2023 and September 2024 amounted to USD 533 million, a 20 percent growth year-on-year, making it the largest branded antifungal for invasive fungal infections worldwide.1 Portfolio key highlights 2024 and outlook 2025 Cresemba® (isavuconazole): Indications expanded to pediatric patients In August, the European Commission approved the use of Cresemba in children with invasive aspergillosis or mucormycosis,2 following a similar decision by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2023; the market exclusivity of Cresemba was extended to October 2027 in the EU and September 2027 in the US. Zevtera® (ceftobiprole): US approval and commercialization progress; Chinese NRDL inclusion In April, the US FDA approved Zevtera for SAB, ABSSSI and CABP, i.e. all three submitted indications.3, 4In September, Zevtera has been approved for New-Technology Add-On Payment (NTAP) in the US, which will provide hospitals an incremental payment in addition to standard reimbursement, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS).5In December, we announced Innoviva Specialty Therapeutics (IST) as commercialization partner for the US market. The US launch is expected mid-2025.In China, ceftobiprole (Chinese trade name: Sibipre®) has been included in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) at the end of 2024, making it eligible for reimbursement under the Chinese national basic medical insurance program from 2025. Clinical and preclinical pipeline: Substantial progress made and significant funding secured The “Other Transaction Agreement” (OTA)6 with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) signed in September provides up to approximately USD 268 million non-dilutive funding over up to 12 years for the development of novel antifungals and antibacterials. An initial commitment of USD 29 million supports the development of our antifungals fosmanogepix and BAL2062.In September, we commenced a phase 3 study with fosmanogepix in the treatment of adult patients with candidemia and/or invasive candidiasis, i.e. severe invasive yeast infections. A second phase 3 study, in invasive mold infections, is expected to start in the coming months.The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) awarded non-dilutive funding of USD 7.3 million in December for the first-in-class LptA inhibitor antibiotic, BAL2420, which we acquired in January 2024.7 This was new funding on top of USD 0.9 million awarded in April. The extended funding supports the progression of the drug candidate towards a first-in-human clinical study which is expected to start mid-2026. BAL2420 is being developed for the potential treatment of severe infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria.Preclinical evaluations for the antibacterial tonabacase and the antifungal BAL2062 are well advanced. We expect to take the decision whether to exercise our option to initiate exclusive contract negotiations to license tonabacase for further clinical development and commercialization in the next few weeks. For BAL2062, our focus in 2025 will be on the completion of the preclinical profiling and the preparation of the phase 2 program so that we can start the clinical study in early 2026. About Basilea Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. We are committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to meet the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections. We have successfully launched two hospital brands, Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections. In addition, we have preclinical and clinical anti-infective assets in our portfolio. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Please visit basilea.com. Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schröder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor RelationsBasilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd, Allschwil Hegenheimermattweg 167b4123 AllschwilSwitzerland Phone +41 61 606 1102 E-mail media_relations@basilea.com investor_relations@basilea.com This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References IQVIA Analytics Link, September 2024. In-market sales reported as moving annual total (MAT) in US dollar.European Public Assessment Report (EPAR): https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines/human/EPAR/cresemba [Accessed: January 07, 2025]Full US prescribing information: https://www.basilea.com/ZEVTERA_US_prescribing_information_46b9y4wk; SAB: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia; ABSSSI: Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections; CABP: Community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.Basilea’s ceftobiprole phase 3 program is funded in part with federal funds from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under contract number HHSO100201600002C. Basilea has been awarded approximately USD 112 million, or approximately 75 percent of the costs related to the Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) and acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) phase 3 studies, regulatory activities and non-clinical workDepartment of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Medicare and Medicaid Programs and the Children's Health Insurance Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2025 Rates; Quality Programs Requirements; and Other Policy Changes: https://federalregister.gov/d/2024-17021 (Accessed: January 07, 2025)BARDA OTA number: 75A50124C00033CARB-X’s funding for this project is provided in part with federal funds from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response; Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; Antibacterials branch; under agreement number 75A50122C00028; and by awards from Wellcome (WT224842) and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The content of this press release is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of CARB-X or any of its funders. Attachment 20250108_Basilea Press release_Portfolio status update_EN.pdf