PRESS RELEASE : AiCuris selects three novel anti-infective treatment approaches as winners of the AiCubator Resident Status, a corporate innovative accelerator initiative

DGAP-News: AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH / Key word(s): Miscellaneous 
AiCuris selects three novel anti-infective treatment approaches as winners of the AiCubator Resident Status, a 
corporate innovative accelerator initiative 
2021-01-13 / 12:00 
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 
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AiCuris selects three novel anti-infective treatment approaches as winners of the AiCubator Resident Status, a 
corporate innovative accelerator initiative 
  . "AiCubator" was launched by AiCuris mid-2020 to provide long-term support for early but promising research projects 
    in the field of anti-infectives 
  . The first three winning projects of this initiative cover artificial chimeric interferons with improved antiviral 
    activity developed by researchers from the Institute of Virology, University of Duisburg and Essen, as well as two 
    novel approaches against Gram-negative bacteria including a novel small molecule antibiotic developed by the 
    US-start-up company Prokaryotics Inc. and a new gyrase inhibitor class developed by the Swiss biotech start-up 
    Selmod 
  . The AiCubator is part of Aicuris' "PREP" (Pandemic and Resistance Emergency Preparedness) - program, a 
    comprehensive four-pillar program to help prevent future pandemics and combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) 
Wuppertal, Germany, January 13, 2021 - AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH, a leading company in the discovery and 
development of drugs against infectious diseases, today announced the winners of the AiCuris AiCubator initiative. 
Submitted projects in the field of anti-infectives were evaluated by AiCuris experts on various criteria including 
status of target identification, preliminary efficacy data on hit molecules, addressed indications and potential 
competitive advantages over existing standards of care. Over a period of up to three years the winning projects will 
benefit from expert scientific support to grow their underlying ideas and approaches to an advanced level. 
"AiCuris strongly believes that there is a need to encourage the development of more early projects based on new 
scientific principles to fill pipeline gaps, tackle anti-microbial resistances and prevent future pandemics," said Dr. 
Holger Zimmermann, CEO of AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH. "Therefore, we are constantly searching for novel 
technologies and creative approaches to develop more effective treatments against infectious diseases with high medical 
needs." 
Project 1: Chimeric artificial interferons with increased efficacy against HBV and other viruses 
Researchers of the Institute of Virology, University of Duisburg and Essen, have discovered in preclinical studies that 
specific forms of interferon are more efficient than the standard treatment. Based on that they engineered chimeric 
interferons with increased antiviral activity. These interferons could improve the efficacy of future HBV therapy as 
well as protection from various viruses, including future pandemic ones. 
"We are very happy that our project has been selected for the AiCubator program," said Kathrin Sutter and Ulf Dittmer 
from the Institute for Virology at the University of Duisburg and Essen. "It is a rewarding opportunity to be promoted 
with the scientific support and business expertise of AiCuris which will help to provide theoretical and experimental 
evidence for designing new targeted immunotherapeutic strategies for chronic hepatitis B infection." 
Project 2: Novel approach modifies proteins essential for biogenesis of outer membranes of bacteria 
Like penicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics, history tells us that entirely new agents that target novel, 
druggable, broadly conserved essential enzymes involved in the biogenesis of outer membranes of bacteria could offer a 
great opportunity in terms of efficacy, safety and treating otherwise resistant bacteria. This is also the basic idea 
behind the winning project of the US-start-up company Prokaryotics Inc., a spin-out from Merck & Co., Inc. to develop a 
new antibiotic that targets the fundamentally essential biochemical assembly components of the Gram-negative outer 
membrane, an intrinsic barrier that naturally restricts antibiotic entry and ultimate efficacy. The most promising 
target in this regard for drug development is is LspA. By modifying LspA (lipoprotein signal peptidase A), an essential 
component in outer membrane biogenesis, Prokaryotics provides an exciting opportunity to develop next generation 
antibiotic agents effective on their own or in combination with existing agents to provide effective mono-therapeutic 
or synergistic efficacy against drug-resistant bacteria. 
"We are delighted to participate in the AiCubator program and draw from the deep experience and resolute commitment 
AiCuris has demonstrated in the field of antibiotic development. With the company's input, we hope to achieve new 
milestones in the further development of our project which shows great promise as a resistance breaking antibiotic 
treatment," said Terry Roemer, PhD. President and CSO of Prokaryotics Inc. 
Project 3: Novel class of antibacterial resistance breaking compounds 
In prokaryotes, gyrases play a crucial role in the process to supercoil the DNA, a process which both saves space and 
improves readability of the DNA. By inhibiting gyrase, the DNA loses its compact structure and expands, which 
ultimately leads to cell death. The inhibition of bacterial DNA gyrase is the principle behind some current effective 
antibacterial agents such as fluoroquinolones, however, the spectrum of side-effects and emerging bacterial resistance 
with no new drugs in the antibacterial pipeline has fueled intensive research in this area. Selmod, a Swiss biotech 
start-up, has developed a novel class of gyrase inhibitors addressing the known target but overcoming fluoroquinolones 
resistance. With a lead candidate and three further candidates with a broad spectrum of activity against Gram-negative 
bacteria, Selmod's project promises to be an innovative approach as a resistance breaking antibiotic. 
"Selmod and the TU Berlin are very honored to be selected as resident in the AiCuris AiCubator program. 
We are happily looking forward towards a fruitful collaboration to deliver a drug candidate to fight infections by 
bacteria resistant to available therapies," said Dr. Frank Otto Gombert, CEO of Selmod. 
"It was not easy to choose between all the excellent projects that have been submitted in the past three months, and we 
are very impressed by the number of outstanding approaches created and developed by highly motivated scientists to 
combat antimicrobial resistance and infections," concluded Dr. Holger Zimmermann. "We are very much looking forward to 
working with these innovative researchers and to help them further progress fresh ideas inspiring anti-infective 
research." 
About AiCubator - a new way to collaborate in anti-infectives and support novel approaches 
To promote early ideas that might lead to the next resistant breaking antibiotic or anti-infective, AiCuris started to 
select promising research projects for the AiCubator, an innovative corporate incubator. The AiCubator initiative is 
dedicated to academic scientific groups or recently formed biotech start-ups with early stage anti-infectives projects 
in areas of high priority that are scientifically attractive but too early staged for licensing deals. The program was 
designed to help scientists and start-ups build their own business and grow their underlying ideas and approaches to an 
advanced level. Residents of the AiCubator program receive long-term support including scientific and regulatory advice 
as well as business development support. Additionally, they gain insight into pre-clinical and clinical drug 
development and the pharmaceutical business. 
About AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH 
AiCuris was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from Bayer and focuses on the discovery and development of drugs targeting 
infectious diseases. SANTO Holding is the Company's majority investor. PREVYMIS^(R) (Letermovir), a first-in-class 
non-nucleoside cytomegalovirus (CMV) inhibitor acting via a novel mechanism of action, was licensed to MSD in 2012 and 
is approved in the EU, the USA, Japan and other parts of the world for use in bone marrow transplants for the 
prevention of HCMV infections in adults who receive an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The Company is 
developing drugs for the treatment of viruses such as human CMV, herpes simplex virus (HSV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), 
and adenoviruses. In the field of antibacterials, AiCuris seeks to develop innovative treatment options for 
life-threatening, multidrug-resistant, hospital-treated pathogens. 
In 2018 Dr. Holger Zimmermann, CEO of AiCuris, and Prof. Dr. Helga Rübsamen-Schaeff, Founding CEO were awarded the 
German Future Prize 2018 (German President's Award for Innovation in Science and Technology) for the development of 
Letermovir and their project, "Protection in the Absence of the Immune System - a Life-Saving Innovation against 
Dangerous Viruses" (original title: "Schutz bei fehlendem Immunsystem - die lebensrettende Innovation gegen gefährliche 
Viren"). 
For more information, please visit www.aicuris.com. 
For more information on PREP, please visit www.aicuris.comPREP. 
Contacts: 
Company:                                            Media relations: 
AiCuris Anti-infective Cures GmbH                   MC Services AG 
Igor Orshanskiy                                     Dr. Solveigh Mähler 
Phone: [phone]                             Phone: [phone] 
E-Mail [e-mail]                        E-Mail: [e-mail] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

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January 13, 2021 06:01 ET (11:01 GMT)