Trius Therapeutics () was a biopharma company based in San Diego, CA that focused on the development of

antibiotic An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

Business profile

The lead compound from Trius,

tedizolid Tedizolid, sold under the brand name Sivextro (by Merck) is an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Tedizolid phosphate is a phosphate ester prodrug of the active compound tedizolid. It was developed by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, following acquisition of ...

phosphate (formerly torezolid phosphate, TR-701), successfully completed its first Phase 3 clinical trial (ESTABLISH 1) in acute skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). It is a once daily, IV and oral, oxazolidinone being developed for the treatment of serious gram-positive infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant ''Staphylococcus aureus'' (MRSA). The Phase 3 trials are being conducted under a Special Protocol Agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration and are using the draft FDA guidance of cessations of lesion spread at 48–72 hours as the primary endpoint. In the ESTABLISH 1 Study, 200 mg of Tedizolid given for a short course of therapy (six days) was shown to be safe, well tolerated and was as effective as the traditional length of therapy with linezolid (600 mg for ten days). Additionally, Tedizolid was shown to have fewer treatment-related side effects than linezolid and significantly fewer GI side effects. Trius was planning the second Phase 2 trial and expects to report results around the end of Q1 2013 and planned to submit an NDA to the FDA for the drug in the second half of 2013.

Tedizolid Tedizolid, sold under the brand name Sivextro (by Merck) is an oxazolidinone-class antibiotic. Tedizolid phosphate is a phosphate ester prodrug of the active compound tedizolid. It was developed by Cubist Pharmaceuticals, following acquisition of ...

was approved by the US

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

on June 20, 2014. The firm was acquired by Cubist Pharmaceuticals at the end of July 2013 in a deal worth $1.6 billion. This fee also included the purchase of Optimer Pharmaceuticals.

Funding

In February 2007 Trius was formed (formerly Rx3) in conjunction with a Series A financing. Trius completed an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

in August 2010, raising $50 million. Its stock was added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index in 2012.

Partnerships and Government Contracts

In 2008 the company received a $28 million contract from the

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID's mis ...

a component of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

, to develop antibiotics against gram-negative infections. The work included a collaboration with the

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...

to help identify antibiotics against gram-negative infections and bioterrorism. Trius was awarded a contract by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2011 for $3 million. In 2011 Bayer acquired the exclusive rights to Trius' antibiotic tedizolid in certain areas in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The deal was reported as being worth $94 million.

Employees

Trius was founded by the last Chief Financial Officer John Schmid and Chief Scientific Officer John Finn. Other executives included Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Stein, Chief Medical Officer Philippe Prokocimer, Chief Commercial Officer Craig Thompson, and Chief Development Officer Ken Bartizal. The Chairman of the Board is David Kabakoff. The company today has 83 full-time employees.

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.triusrx.com/index.php, Trius Therapeutics Biotechnology companies of the United States American companies established in 2004 2004 establishments in California Health care companies based in California Technology companies based in San Diego Health care companies established in 2004 Technology companies established in 2004