Destiny Pharma plc
("Destiny Pharma" or "the Company")

Destiny Pharma to Deliver Presentation at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease conference on XF-73 Nasal Gel and the Use of Post-Operative Antibiotics in Cardio-vascular Surgery Patients

Brighton, United Kingdom - 20 August 2024 - Destiny Pharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel medicines to prevent and cure life threatening infections, today announced that clinical data from its Phase 2b clinical trial on XF-73 nasal administered to cardiac surgery patients has been accepted for an oral presentation at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) conference, the leading European conference on infectious disease in Porto, Portugal, entitled 'meeting the challenge of antimicrobial resistance', 17-20 September 2024.

S. aureus bacterial nasal carriage, (including MRSA), has been established as an important risk factor for the development of bacteremia and surgical site infections (SSIs) in cardio-thoracic surgery. The decolonization of S. aureus nasal carriage prior to cardiac high-risk surgery forms part of current global guidelines for surgical infection prevention. Mupirocin is widely used as a nasal antibiotic for the treatment of nasal carriage of S. aureus but has significant limitations including a lengthy five day dosing and the widespread emergence of Mupirocin-resistant bacterial strains.

XF-73, is a new antibiotic with a novel mechanism of action, exhibiting fast and potent bactericidal properties with a low propensity for engendering bacterial resistance. It is being developed as an intranasal gel for decolonization of S. aureus, (including MRSA), to prevent post-surgical infections.

Destiny Pharma has completed a Phase 2 double-blind, randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of XF-73 nasal gel in open chest cardiac surgery patients with confirmed nasal S. aureus carriage and has been invited to deliver a presentation of the findings from the study at ESCMID conference. The key findings that will be presented include;

·    Results demonstrated a rapid > 99% reduction in S. aureus nasal burden 1 hr prior to surgery (-2.229 log₁₀ CFU/mL) in XF-73 treated patients compared to baseline (placebo -0.014 log₁₀ CFU/mL), which represents a highly statistically significant decrease, (p< 0.0001).

·    This level of nasal reduction was maintained for up to 6 days post-surgery.

·    Significantly fewer patients in the XF-73 arm compared to the placebo arm required post-operative antibiotics (20/43, 46.5% vs. 28/40, 70% respectively; p=0.045)

Advantages of XF-73 nasal gel include: the short pre-surgical dosing, rapidity of decolonization, remote likelihood of resistance emergence, the duration of these effects in the perioperative period and a reduction in the use of post-operative antibiotics. These features provide a good fit with clinical practice (better compliance) potentially enabling infection risk reduction peri-operatively (i.e. use for emergency procedures), enhanced flexibility for scheduling surgeries and to augment antibiotic stewardship efforts. Phase 3 studies are being planned to evaluate and gain regulatory approval for XF-73.

Dr Bill Love (Chief Scientific Officer, Destiny Pharma): 'We are delighted to have been accepted to present this compelling clinical data on XF-73 nasal at ESCMID 2024. This is the leading European conference on antimicrobial drugs with clinical impact and is focused on presenting new data that can make a positive impact in tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR).'

For further information, please contact:

Destiny Pharma
Chris Tovey, CEO
Shaun Claydon, CFO
+44 (0)1273 704 440
pressoffice@destinypharma.com  

About Destiny Pharma

Destiny Pharma is an innovative, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialisation of novel medicines that can prevent life-threatening infections. The Company's drug development pipeline includes two late-stage assets XF-73 Nasal gel, a proprietary drug targeting the prevention of post-surgical staphylococcal hospital infections including MRSA and NTCD-M3, a microbiome-based biotherapeutic for the prevention of C. difficile infection (CDI) recurrence which is the leading cause of hospital acquired infection in the US.

For further information on the company, please visit www.destinypharma.com.

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