Telum Therapeutics has raised €18 million in a Series A financing led by the AMR Action Fund to advance its lead antimicrobial programme into Phase 1 clinical development.

The financing will support development of a therapy targeting hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, one of the leading causes of difficult-to-treat hospital infections.

New investor Inveready also participated in the funding round alongside existing investors Invivo Partners, CDTI through SICC Innvierte, Clave Capital and Sodena.

The investment will enable Telum to generate Phase 1 safety and translational data for its lead candidate while supporting continued development of its broader antimicrobial pipeline.

The programme is based on the company’s APEX platform, which combines metagenomic datasets, synthetic biology and artificial intelligence to develop protein-based antimicrobial therapies.

Acinetobacter baumannii is a multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterium associated with severe hospital-acquired infections and increasing antimicrobial resistance worldwide.

Henry Skinner, chief executive officer of the AMR Action Fund, said: “Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most formidable bacterial threats in modern medicine. It is clinically challenging, often resistant to first-line therapies, and a pathogen for which progress has been slow and difficult to achieve.”

He added: “We are encouraged by Telum’s novel approach and pleased to support the team as they work to bring forward a new treatment option for patients with life-threatening infections.”

Subhendu Basu, chief executive officer of Telum Therapeutics, said: “We are delighted to welcome AMR Action Fund and Inveready as new investors in Telum.”

He added: “This financing provides a clear path to complete Phase 1 development of our lead program targeting Acinetobacter baumannii HABP/VABP, while also enabling us to advance our broader pipeline addressing both Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens.”

The financing brings together international and Spanish investors focused on life sciences and healthcare innovation as the company prepares to enter clinical development.

Pic suggestion: Laboratory researcher working on antimicrobial drug development, or an illustration of bacterial pathogens under the microscope.

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