The hotly anticipated clinical trial into novel antibiotic iclaprim has yielded positive results for the drug’s owner Motif Bio (MTFB). The Aim and Nasdaq-listed biotech company recently announced that iclaprim performed just as well as established antibiotic vancomycin in treating patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). A second final-phase clinical trial is due to announce results in the second half of the year and Motif Bio expects to gain full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the first half of 2018.
Patient shareholders deserve a break. The newsflow from Motif Bio during the last few months has epitomised the challenges associated with getting a novel drug to market. Throughout the latter-half of 2016 the group struggled to raise the cash required to fund these expensive clinical trials and shares have been hammered as a result. But following this positive announcement, shares have risen by 30 per cent to 40p - around the level they were trading at this time last year. Further positive clinical trial announcements are likely to embolden this recovery.
That said, challenges remain. As iclaprim did not actually perform any better than the current standard of care, getting physicians to prescribe the drug may be difficult. Crucial to high prescription levels will be the drug’s safety data. If - as management expects - iclaprim shows greater tolerability for ABSSSI patients who suffer from kidney complaints, experts think iclaprim will displace vancomycin as the first choice treatment for those cases. With a population of close to 1m such patients in the US, iclaprim could earn Motif Bio a steady revenue stream.
