Spero Therapeutics

Spero Therapeutics is a privately owned clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge Massachusetts. The company focuses on identifying, developing, and commercializing treatments for multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections.

Spero's lead product candidate is SPR994, which is designed to be the first oral carbapenem-class antibiotic for use in adults to treat MDR Gram-negative infections, especially complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI). The treatment is derived from tebipenem, an antibiotic produced by Meiji Seika Pharma in Japan, which is used to treat common pediatric infections including pneumonia, otitis media, and sinusitis.

Spero is also pursuing a couple of product candidates through its IV Potentiator Platform. SPR741 is an IV product that when combined with an antibiotic, has demonstrated the ability to expand the spectrum and potency of the co-administered antibiotic against Gram-negative bacteria.

It has completed Phase 1A and 1B clinical trials highlighting its tolerability and pharmacokinetic profile. SPR206 is an IV direct-acting antibiotic that has shown activity against Acinetobacter baumanii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in preclinical studies. It has completed non-clinical, IND enabling studies supporting its advancement as a clinical candidate to treat MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacterial strains.

Spero has another product candidate, SPR720, in very early stages. It is an oral therapy designed for the treatment of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections. In November 2018, the company announced positive results from its IND-enabling studies and intends to initiate Phase 1 clinical trials in early 2019.