Omnix Medical Starts Phase I Clinical Trial of Novel Anti-Infective; First Healthy Volunteers Dosed

OMN6 is a first-in-class antimicrobial peptide for the treatment of life-threatening infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. In 2017, OMN6 has been designated a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) by the U.S. FDA. In 2020, Omnix secured over €10M in funding for the clinical development of OMN6 from the European Innovation Committee (EIC) H2020, with a top 1-percentile program ranking. In 2021, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a grant for the development of OMN6 targeting infections with Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), joining the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA) which has been funding Omnix Medical’s activities since inception. Recent publications summarizing the most comprehensive research on the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to date estimate 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR per year, with worldwide prevalence.

In-vivo preclinical trials with OMN6 demonstrated a significant reduction of mortality in infections with A. baumannii. OMN6 is highly effective against a broad range of A. baumannii subtypes that are involved in life-threatening complications in hospitalized and intensive care patients.

“The successful dosing of these first six individuals is a major milestone for our entire team,” said Dr. Moshik Cohen-Kutner, CEO of Omnix Medical. “With our new approach, we significantly lower the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) development. Our compound physically destroys the pathogen´s cell membrane upon contact, causing immediate eradication of the pathogen and leaving no chance for the emergence of resistance.”

Dr. Niv Bachnoff, CSO of Omnix Medical, added “We are thrilled about the progress of our first clinical trial. Our goal is to offer patients and healthcare systems worldwide a potent alternative to available antimicrobials, which have increasingly lost their impact due to the alarming spread of AMR."