Telephus Advances TPH 101 Program Towards Candidate Selection

SAN DIEGO, CA, USA I March 18, 2014 I BioAtla, a global biotechnology company focused on the development of differentiated biological therapeutics, and Telephus Medical LLC, a leader in the development of vaccine products to prevent periprosthetic joint infections and accompanying osteomyelitis in orthopedic procedures, today announced that BioAtla has successfully completed a key protein engineering phase of Telephus’ compound TPH 101. TPH 101 is Telephus’ lead program focused on the development of neutralizing antibodies targeting a key bacterial enzyme that drives the formation of antibiotic-resistant biofilm infections on implanted medical devices.

“We believe Telephus has created a significant franchise in the field for preventing drug-resistant biofilm infections,” said Jay M. Short, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of BioAtla. “This partnership is an ideal demonstration of the reliability and effectiveness of our proprietary platform to rapidly and efficiently generate optimized monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic development, including neutralizing antibodies for enzyme inhibition applications.”

BioAtla’s proprietary Comprehensive Integrated Antibody Optimization (CIAO!TM) platform integrates important features of manufacturing and process development into protein design yielding superior antibody candidates. TPH 101 is designed to prevent devastating orthopedic periprosthetic joint infections and accompanying implant-associated osteomyelitis that can occur in total hip and knee replacement and other arthroplasty procedures.  These infections can be medically and financially devastating to patients, with treatment costs that can be 4-6 times the cost of the original operation alone. There are approximately 1.05 million total hip and knee replacement procedures performed annually in the United States today, with those procedures projected to cost nearly $120 billion by 2020. Treatment of periprosthetic joint infections in some patients who undergo these procedures is projected to cost our healthcare system $1.7 billion in that same year.  BioAtla is eligible to receive downstream proceeds in the form of milestone and royalty payments upon commercialization of TPH 101.

“BioAtla is a unique company and partner in this industry given its robust, proprietary platform for optimizing therapeutic antibodies,” said Mark Benedyk, president and chief executive officer of Telephus. “We are extremely pleased to move our lead program forward with BioAtla, who successfully advanced development of TPH 101 two months ahead of schedule.”

TPH 101
TPH 101 is a neutralizing monoclonal antibody that inhibits a key biofilm enzyme used by clinically significant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (including MRSA) to adhere to and colonize surfaces of implantable devices and tissue grafts, forming antibiotic-resistant biofilms in the process.

About BioAtla, LLC
BioAtla is a global biotechnology company with operations in San Diego, CA and Beijing. BioAtla develops novel monoclonal antibody and other protein therapeutic products with more selective targeting, greater efficacy, and more cost-efficient and predictable manufacturing. By utilizing its proprietary technologies of product design and development, from target discovery to manufacturing and preclinical studies, BioAtla develops differentiated, patentable therapeutic proteins for its partners and for its internal programs. BioAtla has over 70 patents pending that cover its platform technologies representing a full complement of therapeutic protein development capabilities. Learn more at www.bioatla.com.

About Telephus Medical LLC
Telephus is developing clinical products based on the groundbreaking work in bone health developed by Dr. Edward Schwarz, Director of the Center for Musculoskeletal Research and Distinguished Professor in Orthopaedics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Focused on the prevention of periprosthetic joint infections and osteomyelitis, Telephus’ lead program TPH 101 is designed to block staphylococcal adhesion and replication on the surfaces of implantable medical devices to prevent the formation of antibiotic-resistant periprosthetic biofilm infections and accompanying implant-associated osteomyelitis. Learn more at www.telephusmedical.com.

SOURCE: BioAtla; Telephus Medical