Yale-BioHaven Entrepreneurship Series Presents Rib-X Pharmaceuticals "Designing Novel Antibiotics"

The Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship Seminars series will begin its 2008 schedule with a program on the New Haven start-up company Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on Tuesday, February 12 from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Anlyan Center Auditorium, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street.

The Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship Seminars series will begin its 2008 schedule with a program on the New Haven start-up company Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc. on Tuesday, February 12 from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Anlyan Center Auditorium, Yale School of Medicine, 300 Cedar Street.

The featured speakers from Rib-X will be President and Chief Executive Officer Susan Froshauer, and Erin Duffy, the Vice President of Structure-Based Drug Design. They will discuss the Rib-X research goals for design of proprietary classes of antibacterial agents.

Rib-X focuses on the design and development of novel small-molecule antibiotics for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospital and community settings. Since its inception in 2001, Rib-X has established a portfolio of development and discovery-stage antibiotic compounds, including RX-3341, a broad-spectrum intravenous quinolone antibiotic that will soon enter Phase 3 studies, and RX-1741, an orally administered oxazolidinone antibiotic now in two Phase 2 studies.

Many classic antibiotics work by inhibiting operation of the ribosome — a part of the protein synthesizing machinery that is essential for the function of all bacterial pathogens. A key advantage for Rib-X is proprietary access to the high-resolution crystal structure of the ribosome, which provides physical and chemical information for designing useful small molecules.

Rib-X raised $50 million in a Series C Preferred Stock financing announced in June of 2006, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $123 million.

Refreshments and networking will follow the seminar from 5 to 7 p.m. Registration is free, but advanced registration is required. To RSVP, send an e-mail to BioHaven or call the Yale Office of Cooperative Research at 203-436-8096. A flyer about all events in the series is on line at http://curenet.org/download/biohaven.pdf. Directions to the event are available online.

Yale BioHaven Entrepreneurship Seminars are sponsored by the Yale Office of Cooperative Research, Connecticut United for Research Excellence (CURE), Wiggin and Dana, LLP, Elm Street Ventures, and Price Waterhouse Coopers, PC. with support from Yale Entrepreneurial Society and Yale Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Society. For further information on the seminar, please contact Tracy Huang at 203-436-8096 or tracy.huang@yale.edu.



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Janet Rettig Emanuel: janet.emanuel@yale.edu, 203-432-2157