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"Using information discovered about the ribosome during our first year ofwork with the MRC, Rib-X has been able to advance the iterative intelligentdiscovery engine that the Company developed to design novel antibioticscaffolds which circumvent the mechanisms employed by resistant bacteria,"said Erin Duffy, Ph.D, Rib-X's Vice President of Structure-Based Drug Design."This is a natural extension of our relationship with MRC, which will buildupon Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan's discovery of the structure of the full 70Sribosome and, in turn, increase our understanding, on an atomic level, of thebinding properties of antibiotics to the 50S subunit of the ribosome."
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About Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Rib-X Pharmaceuticals is a product-driven small molecule drug discoveryand development company focused on the structure-based design of new classesof antibiotics. The Company's underlying drug discovery engine capitalizes onits proprietary high-resolution crystal structure of the ribosome, whichperforms an essential role in the fundamental process of protein synthesis.Many known, commercially valuable antibiotics bind to the ribosome, includingthose used to treat both community-acquired and hospital-acquired pathogens.The Company's integrated research strategy, which combines state of the art,proprietary computational analysis, X-ray crystallography, medicinalchemistry, microbiology and biochemistry, allows it to rapidly synthesize newagents designed to avoid typical antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Rib-X'siterative intelligent engine has yielded several distinctive new antibioticclasses. The Company currently has two programs in human clinical trials, theRX-1741 designer oxazolidinone program as an oral/IV agent to treat serioushospital Gram-positive infections and the RX-3341 program, a next generationfluoroquinolone, active against a broad spectrum of bacteria, includingmethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, the Company hasmultiple drug discovery programs. The first of these programs is focused ondesign and development of an orally active macrolide for community use fortreatment of skin infections, including those caused by MRSA. The seconddiscovery program is directed towards identifying a new chemical class ofantibiotics active against multi-drug resistant Gram negative bacteria.
For more information on the ribosome and the Rib-X mission, please visitthe Company website at www.rib-x.com.
About the Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council is dedicated to improving human healththrough excellent science. It invests on behalf of the UK taxpayer. Its workranges from molecular level science to public health research, carried out inuniversities, hospitals and a network of its own units and institutes. The MRCliaises with the Health Departments, the National Health Service and industryto take account of the public's needs. The results have led to some of themost significant discoveries in medical science and benefited the health andwealth of millions of people in the UK and around the world. For moreinformation about the Medical Research Council, visit www.mrc.ac.uk
SOURCE Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
