Outdated reimbursement policies are causing many developers of novel antibiotics that treat drug-resistant superbugs to declare bankruptcy, but Malvern-based VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals believes it can buck that trend, writes Tom Avril for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to VenatoRx CEO Christopher J. Burns, there have been signs that policymakers are fundamentally rethinking how drugmakers are reimbursed, as an increasing number of bacteria have become resistant to older antibiotics.

“There is no question that the sense of crisis is building,” said Burns.

In June, there was a proposal to overhaul Medicare reimbursement guidelines. These currently give hospitals an incentive to use older and cheaper antibiotics rather than newer and pricier alternatives. Four months later, Medicare increased payments to hospitals for certain newer antibiotics and allowed them to seek additional payments for treating drug-resistant infections.

VenatoRx, however, is not waiting on policy fixes. The company is hard at work on its lead product, Taniborbactam. This is currently in a phase-three trial on patients with complex urinary tract infections. The drug is administered with an older antibiotic, making it effective once again by blocking the enzyme bacteria trying to degrade it.

Read more about VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals in The Philadelphia Inquirer here.

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