Cleveland BioLabs subsidiary Panacela Labs won a 146 million ruble (about $4.6 million) contract from the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Industry and Trade to develop a family of anti-infective compounds called Xenomycins.
“We expect that the contract will enable us to accelerate our preclinical program and evaluate the potential application of Xenomycins against life threatening infectious diseases," Dmitry Tyomkin, Panacela Labs CEO, said in a statement.
Xenomycins target DNA in pathogenic microbes. Preclinical studies have demonstrated efficacy of these compounds against parasites and pathogenic fungi known to cause clinically significant infections, such as candidiasis and aspergillosis.
The contract, issued under the federation's "Pharma 2020" development initiative, provides matching funding over about three years to support preclinical and clinical studies. Pharma 2020 is Russia’s initiative to grow its biopharma industry to a 5% share of the global market by the year 2020.
Founded in 2011, Panacela Labs is a joint venture between Cleveland BioLabs—which owns 54.6% of the subsidiary—and the Russian investment company RUSNANO, in collaboration with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Children's Cancer Institute of Australia, and Cleveland Clinic Foundation.