Patient-friendly new era standard of care for infectious disease
"It's well known that broad-spectrum antibiotics are coming to the end of their days. Summit is developing the next generation approach."
Bob Duggan
Chief Executive Officer
Summit Therapeutics is a leader in antibiotic innovation, with a strategy to create a new standard of care for serious infectious diseases.
The last new mechanism antibiotic to be approved by the FDA was in 2003. No new classes have been approved since. Most existing antibiotics are broad-spectrum: they inhibit or kill a wide range of bacteria, whether they are dangerous or not, which leads to the development of resistant strains. Their overuse is creating an era of untreatable infections. Even infections that were once easily curable could become global health crises.
Summit has a highly promising pipeline of new candidates for narrow-spectrum antibiotics. They target specific unwanted bacteria, leaving healthy bacteria alone. The result is medicines that are far less prone to creating resistant strains of undesirable bacteria, and that place far less stress on the patient’s normal, healthy immune responses.
A vital tool in Summit’s development is its Discuva Platform that helps in the discovery of these new mechanism antibiotics. It uncovers novel bacterial targets and develops new mechanism antibiotics against them.
To date, the Discuva Platform has developed two new targets for gonorrhea, an ESKAPE (an acronym encompassing the names of six bacterial pathogens commonly associated with anti-microbial resistance) program, and undisclosed programs with Roche (a pharmaceutical company based in Switzerland).
In addition, ridinilazole, Summit’s new mechanism antibiotic for C. difficile infection, is being supported by an award worth up to $63.7 million from the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). It is now progressing in Phase 3 trials.
Bob Duggan became the CEO of Summit Therapeutics in 2020 and is enthusiastic about its commitment to solutions.
Summit has adopted a non-traditional approach to antibiotics: designing new mechanism antibiotics specifically for the pathogen or infection they address. This approach allows the unmet needs of patients and healthcare providers to be satisfied, with clear advantages over current broad-spectrum therapies.
The aim is to develop antibiotics for high-volume use, not to be held in reserve. This targeted approach supports antibiotic stewardship, improved outcomes for patients, and healthcare savings.
A current research target for Summit is CDI (C. difficile infection), an infection of the colon caused by the bacteria Clostridium difficile. It is characterized by severe diarrhea but can also result in serious disease complications, including bowel perforation, toxic megacolon, and sepsis. It can prove fatal in the most severe cases.
CDI is a serious issue in North America and Europe, with estimates of more than one million cases of CDI per year in these regions. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that CDI is responsible for 29,000 US deaths per year. The CDC has also designated CDI as one of three pathogens that pose an immediate public health threat and require urgent and aggressive action.
A healthy and diverse microbiome naturally protects against C. difficile colonization and infection. Patients who contract CDI typically have damaged microbiomes due to prior broad-spectrum antibiotic treatments for an unrelated infection. Initial treatment with the current standard of care antibiotic, vancomycin, fails to sustain cures in approximately one-third of cases due to further damage that vancomycin causes to patients’ microbiomes. The use of vancomycin leads to a high risk of recurrent disease. The risk of further recurrence rises to 65% after a patient suffers a second episode of CDI. Each recurrent episode of CDI is typically more severe than the prior episode and carries an increased risk of mortality. Reducing recurrent CDI is the key clinical issue.
Ridinilazole is a Phase 3, precision antibiotic in development by Summit for front-line CDI treatment to cure the initial infection and reduce disease recurrence. It is a new mechanism antibiotic, highly selective for C. difficile. It works to kill the bacteria by stopping cell division.
In Phase 2 clinical trial called CoDIFy, this selectivity allowed ridinilazole to outperform vancomycin by killing CDI while preserving patients’ microbiomes to reduce disease recurrence. Ridinilazole achieved statistical superiority over vancomycin in sustained clinical response (‘SCR’), which captures ridinilazole’s impact on both the initial treatment and disease recurrence.
Summit Therapeutics announces U.K. court approval for redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
17 Sep 2020
Go to linkSummit appoints Robert W. Duggan as Chief Executive Officer
14 Apr 2020
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics gets US$50mln backing from biotech billionaire Bob Duggan
06 Dec 2019
Go to linkNarrow-spectrum antibiotic treatment of Clostridium Difficile infection improves preservation of intestinal metabolic profile
07 Oct 2019
Go to linkEffect of broad vs. narrow-spectrum Clostridioides Difficile treatment on human stool bile acid composition over time
07 Oct 2019
Go to linkQuality of life changes in patients with Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI): a Randomized, Double-blind Trial of Ridinilazole (RDZ) compared to Vancomycin (VAN)
03 Oct 2019
Go to linkCombating resistance while maintaining innovation: the future of anti-microbial stewardship
18 Sep 2019
Go to linkIn vivo proof of concept for a novel small molecule inhibitor of bacterial Lipoprotein transport targeting Enterobacteriaceae
05 Sep 2019
Go to linkFrom new mechanisms to new standards of care
24 Jun 2019
Go to linkNovel small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial Lipoprotein transport with potent antimicrobial activity against Enterobacteriaceae
14 Apr 2019
Go to linkIn vitro activity of the novel oral antimicrobial SMT-571, with a new mechanism of action, against MDR and XDR Neisseria gonorrhoeae: future treatment option for gonorrhea?
25 Feb 2019
Go to linkRobert Duggan invests $25mn into Summit
17 Dec 2018
Go to linkA novel small molecule antibiotic for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
13 Nov 2018
Go to linkRidinilazole for Clostridium Difficile Infection: human gut microbiome profiles from a phase 2 clinical trial
03 Oct 2018
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics was founded
01 Jan 2003
Go to linkReports Financial Results and Operational Progress for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020
29 Sep 2020
Go to linkSummit announces effectiveness of scheme of arrangement and completion of redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
18 Sep 2020
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics announces U.K. court approval for redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
17 Sep 2020
Go to linkRidinilazole, a narrow spectrum antibiotic for treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection, enhances preservation of microbiota-dependent bile acids
29 Jul 2020
Go to linkPharmacyclics billionaire Bob Duggan takes the helm of another biotech — and he faces an even bigger uphill climb this time
14 Apr 2020
Go to linkBillionaire Robert Duggan’s New Biotech Chapter: An Antibiotics Quest
27 Feb 2020
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics appoints controlling shareholder, biotech billionaire Bob Duggan as its executive chairman
26 Feb 2020
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics announces £38M fundraising success
02 Jan 2020
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics’ Glyn Edwards talks about US$50mln backing and Ridinilazole progress
09 Dec 2019
Play VideoBillionaire’s big investment shows renewed faith in drugs company
07 Dec 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics gets US$50mln backing from biotech billionaire Bob Duggan
06 Dec 2019
Go to linkBiotech firms fight panic over spread of superbugs
08 Nov 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics to participate in panel sessions at the World Antimicrobial Resistance Congress.
06 Nov 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics recognises C Difficile awareness month
04 Nov 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics CEO says anti microbial resistance will be as big a problem as climate change
25 Oct 2019
Go to linkCan the rally in Summit Therapeutics shares continue?
22 Oct 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics shares rise on phase II c.difficile data
03 Oct 2019
Go to linkSummit announces publication of editorial in future microbiology advocating for innovation in antibiotic development to drive stewardship focus on improving patient outcomes
17 Sep 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics well placed in the race to find next-generation antibiotic
17 Apr 2019
Go to linkSummit presents in vivo proof of concept data for new mechanism antibiotics targeting Enterobacteriaceae in oral session at ECCMID 2019
14 Apr 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics expands drug pipeline with antibiotics targeting deadly bacteria
04 Apr 2019
Go to linkSummit’s SMT-571 potent against over 200 clinical isolates of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, including numerous multi- and extensively-drug resistant strains, in published preclinical data
25 Feb 2019
Go to linkSummit Therapeutics to present at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference
08 Feb 2019
Go to linkPrecision antibiotic improves outcome of gut infections in phase II
03 Aug 2018
Go to linkUS billionaire Robert Duggan to invest US$25mln into Summit Therapeutics
10 Jul 2018
Go to linkCambridge biotech Summit pivots from failed trial, layoffs with $4.5M from CARB-X
10 Jul 2018
Go to linkDisappointment for Summit Therapeutics as rare disease drug flops in trials
27 Jun 2018
Go to linkSummit confirms £10mln acquisition of antibiotics discovery group Discuva
27 Dec 2017
Go to link"Certainly a resident tendency to expect the best possible outcome fuels the energy always required to make a meaningful difference for the betterment of existing conditions.”
Bob Duggan
Chief Executive Officer
Summit Therapeutics announces U.K. court approval for redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
17 Sep 2020
Summit appoints Robert W. Duggan as Chief Executive Officer
14 Apr 2020
Summit Therapeutics gets US$50mln backing from biotech billionaire Bob Duggan
06 Dec 2019
Narrow-spectrum antibiotic treatment of Clostridium Difficile infection improves preservation of intestinal metabolic profile
07 Oct 2019
Effect of broad vs. narrow-spectrum Clostridioides Difficile treatment on human stool bile acid composition over time
07 Oct 2019
Quality of life changes in patients with Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI): a Randomized, Double-blind Trial of Ridinilazole (RDZ) compared to Vancomycin (VAN)
03 Oct 2019
Combating resistance while maintaining innovation: the future of anti-microbial stewardship
18 Sep 2019
In vivo proof of concept for a novel small molecule inhibitor of bacterial Lipoprotein transport targeting Enterobacteriaceae
05 Sep 2019
From new mechanisms to new standards of care
24 Jun 2019
Novel small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial Lipoprotein transport with potent antimicrobial activity against Enterobacteriaceae
14 Apr 2019
In vitro activity of the novel oral antimicrobial SMT-571, with a new mechanism of action, against MDR and XDR Neisseria gonorrhoeae: future treatment option for gonorrhea?
25 Feb 2019
Robert Duggan invests $25mn into Summit
17 Dec 2018
A novel small molecule antibiotic for the treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae
13 Nov 2018
Ridinilazole for Clostridium Difficile Infection: human gut microbiome profiles from a phase 2 clinical trial
03 Oct 2018
Summit Therapeutics was founded
01 Jan 2003
Reports Financial Results and Operational Progress for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020
29 Sep 2020
Summit announces effectiveness of scheme of arrangement and completion of redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
18 Sep 2020
Summit Therapeutics announces U.K. court approval for redomiciliation to Delaware, USA
17 Sep 2020
Ridinilazole, a narrow spectrum antibiotic for treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection, enhances preservation of microbiota-dependent bile acids
29 Jul 2020
Pharmacyclics billionaire Bob Duggan takes the helm of another biotech — and he faces an even bigger uphill climb this time
14 Apr 2020
Billionaire Robert Duggan’s New Biotech Chapter: An Antibiotics Quest
27 Feb 2020
Summit Therapeutics appoints controlling shareholder, biotech billionaire Bob Duggan as its executive chairman
26 Feb 2020
Summit Therapeutics announces £38M fundraising success
02 Jan 2020
Summit Therapeutics’ Glyn Edwards talks about US$50mln backing and Ridinilazole progress
09 Dec 2019
Billionaire’s big investment shows renewed faith in drugs company
07 Dec 2019
Summit Therapeutics gets US$50mln backing from biotech billionaire Bob Duggan
06 Dec 2019
Biotech firms fight panic over spread of superbugs
08 Nov 2019
Summit Therapeutics to participate in panel sessions at the World Antimicrobial Resistance Congress.
06 Nov 2019
Summit Therapeutics recognises C Difficile awareness month
04 Nov 2019
Summit Therapeutics CEO says anti microbial resistance will be as big a problem as climate change
25 Oct 2019
Can the rally in Summit Therapeutics shares continue?
22 Oct 2019
Summit Therapeutics shares rise on phase II c.difficile data
03 Oct 2019
Summit announces publication of editorial in future microbiology advocating for innovation in antibiotic development to drive stewardship focus on improving patient outcomes
17 Sep 2019
Summit Therapeutics well placed in the race to find next-generation antibiotic
17 Apr 2019
Summit presents in vivo proof of concept data for new mechanism antibiotics targeting Enterobacteriaceae in oral session at ECCMID 2019
14 Apr 2019
Summit Therapeutics expands drug pipeline with antibiotics targeting deadly bacteria
04 Apr 2019
Summit’s SMT-571 potent against over 200 clinical isolates of Neisseria Gonorrhoeae, including numerous multi- and extensively-drug resistant strains, in published preclinical data
25 Feb 2019
Summit Therapeutics to present at the BIO CEO & Investor Conference
08 Feb 2019
Precision antibiotic improves outcome of gut infections in phase II
03 Aug 2018
US billionaire Robert Duggan to invest US$25mln into Summit Therapeutics
10 Jul 2018
Cambridge biotech Summit pivots from failed trial, layoffs with $4.5M from CARB-X
10 Jul 2018
Disappointment for Summit Therapeutics as rare disease drug flops in trials
27 Jun 2018
Summit confirms £10mln acquisition of antibiotics discovery group Discuva
27 Dec 2017
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