Company Receives NIH Grant For Novel Investigational Antibiotic to Combat ‘Super Gonorrhea’

Image credit: Yassine Khalfalli, Unsplash

This morning, TAXIS Pharmaceuticals announced it has received a $2.9 million grant, to be awarded over 3 years, from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), one of the institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant will allow the company to further advance research and development for its dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors (DHFRIs) as a novel approach to combat multi-drug resistant gonorrhea (MDRSG, commonly referred to as super gonorrhea), a rapidly spreading deadly and highly resistant strain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

“Our DHFRIs have demonstrated pre-clinical potential in overcoming resistance barriers, offering a significant breakthrough for future treatment,” TAXIS Chief Scientific Officer Ajit Parhi, PhD, said in a statement. “This NIH grant further validates our scientific approach and the vital role that DHFRIs can play in addressing this growing public health challenge.”

DHFRIs target and inhibit the essential bacterial enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), thereby blocking DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, resulting in cell death. TAXIS’ oral, first-in-class investigational DHFRIs targeting MDRSG successfully eradicated MDRSG in animal efficacy models.

Learn more: ‘Super Gonorrhea’ is Evolving as a Greater Treatment Challenge

The STI’s Burden

This newer strain of the sexually transmitted infection (STI), also known as super gonorrhea, poses a public health challenge due to its resistance to the last line of effective antibiotic, ceftriaxone. And the overall incidence rates of this STI is escalating worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that in 2020 there were an estimated 82.4 million [47.7 million-130.4 million] new gonorrhea cases infected among adolescents and adults aged 15–49 years worldwide, with a global incident rate of 19 (11–29) per 1000 women and 23 (10–43) per 1000 men. Most cases were in the WHO African Region and the Western Pacific Region.²

Although the multidrug-resistant gonorrhea strain has been seen mostly outside the US, in 2023, 2 cases of this pathogen were confirmed in the US and identified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.³

Massachusetts officials reported that clinicians were able to treat the patients successfully with ceftriaxone. However, this strain of the sexually transmitted infection had reduced susceptibility to 5 antibiotic classes—including cephalosporins.³

About the Company

TAXIS a clinical stage company at the forefront of developing therapies. developing new classes of anti-resistance therapies to treat life-threatening, multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. Their investigational drug candidates include efflux pump inhibitors, dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors, and FtsZ inhibitors aim to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The company sees the importance of addressing AMR both for this form of STI but antimicrobial development overall.

"This NIH grant is a critical step in enabling TAXIS to tackle the urgent threat posed by super gonorrhea," TAXIS Pharmaceuticals CEO Gregory Mario, MBA, said in a statement. “Effective antibiotics are the foundation of modern medicine. Along with other innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, we are committed to solving the antimicrobial resistance crisis— the number one threat to global societal health.”

References

1. TAXIS Pharmaceuticals announces $2.9 Million NIH Grant for its Novel Investigational Therapeutic to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea. TAXIS press release. May 27, 2025. Accessed May 27, 2025.
2. Multi-drug resistant gonorrhea. WHO July 11, 2023. Accessed May 27, 2025.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/multi-drug-resistant-gonorrhoea
3. Landhuis EW. Multidrug-Resistant “Super Gonorrhea” Rallies Multipronged Effort. JAMA. 2024;331(20):1695–1697. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.15355