Dive Brief:
- Cidara Therapeutics (formerly K2 Therapeutics) is a privately held company managed by long-standing industry professionals.
- Their major development projects include the Cloudbreak targeted immunotherapy platform, as well as Biafungen, an antifungal drug.
- The company’s area of therapeutic focus is on treating fungal infections in patients with compromised immune systems as a result of cancer therapy, bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplants.
Dive Insight:
Cidara Therapeutics is made up of an experienced management team comprised of experienced former CEOs from various companies, such as Trius Therapeutics, Achaogen Pharmaceuticals, Peninsula Pharmaceuticals, Cerexa, Cadence Pharmaceuticals, and Rempex Pharmaceuticals. Together, they have a track record of success and innovative development. They are also joined by Dr. H. Shaw from Harvard University.
This team’s goal is to “rewrite the book” on how certain fungal infections are treated. The rate of death in patients who develop invasive fungal infections after cancer therapy, bone marrow transplant or solid organ transplants can be higher than 50%. This team’s immunotherapy platform and current drug in development---a novel echinocandin antifungal---are being developed to shift the treatment paradigm and improve outcomes for the 500,000 patients who develop invasive fungal infections each year.