Cerexa

About Cerexa

Cerexa, Inc. operated as a biopharmaceutical company with a focus on developing anti-infective therapies to combat serious and life-threatening infections, particularly those resistant to existing antibiotics. The company was founded in the spring of 2005 as a spin-out from Peninsula Pharmaceuticals. The founders include Dennis Podlesak and J. James Ge.

The company's business was centered on its product pipeline of hospital-based anti-infective treatments. Its lead product candidate was Ceftaroline, a next-generation, broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic. This injectable antibiotic demonstrated effectiveness against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, including challenging pathogens like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In October 2005, Cerexa initiated a Phase 2 trial for its lead product for complicated skin and skin structure infections. The company's portfolio also included ME1036, a parenteral carbapenem in preclinical development with a broad spectrum of activity.

Cerexa's strategy involved in-licensing promising antibiotic candidates. It licensed the rights to Ceftaroline from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. for worldwide development and commercialization, excluding Japan. It also licensed the global rights for ME1036 from Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd. The company secured significant venture capital funding, raising $50 million in a financing round co-led by New Leaf Venture Partners and Frazier Healthcare Ventures in 2005. Other investors included Canaan Partners, Domain Associates, and Pappas Ventures.

In a notable exit, Cerexa was acquired by Forest Laboratories in January 2007 for approximately $480 million in cash, with a potential additional milestone payment of $100 million. This acquisition provided Forest Laboratories with Cerexa's portfolio of anti-infective therapies. The FDA later approved Cerexa's lead product, Teflaro (ceftaroline fosamil), in 2010. Forest Laboratories itself was later acquired by Actavis in 2014 for about $25 billion.