About us
DeNovaMed Inc. is a pharmaceutical company specializing in new therapeutic approaches to combat diabetic foot infection (DFI) and drug-resistant bacterial infections. Our team has deep domain expertise in drug discovery, microbiology, and bacterial lipid metabolism, which we use to create novel antibiotics with potential broad-spectrum utility. DeNovaMed moves beyond 'me-too' antibacterial approaches to make truly novel therapies for resistant infections. DeNovaMed is a spin-off from Dalhousie University with operations in Halifax and Toronto.
Science
Lipid metabolism is essential for life in all bacteria. Lipid metabolism controls the synthesis of a wide variety of essential bacterial components, including virulence factors, membrane structures, and fatty acids required for bacterial life. DeNovaMed’s science focuses on ACP synthase (AcpS), a target that is present in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. AcpS inhibitors therefore constitute an important broad-spectrum strategy for antibiotics . By targeting enzymes that control the synthesis and maintenance of lipids, DeNovaMed compounds produce potent antibacterial effects against even the most resistant “superbug” pathogens.
DeNovaMed has a particularly strong team in computer-aided drug design. Utilizing “de novo” molecular modeling techniques, they have developed multiple classes of antibacterial compounds that are drug-like, yet have no structural features in common with older antibiotics. These small molecule inhibitors of lipid metabolism enzymes have great inherent advantages in keeping resistance from developing in the future. These compounds look and act like no other antibiotics on the market today.
Pipeline
DeNovaMed has two families of patented and patent-pending compounds, one engineered for topical delivery and one for systemic administration. | |
Our preclinical candidate DNM0547 is being evaluated for use in DFI, a debilitating complication of diabetes that exposes over 1 million people per year to the risk of amputation. This drug is also being explored as a treatment for leprous wounds, methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA) infection, and other skin infections. |  |
The latest generation of DeNovaMed antibiotic innovation (over 700 compounds made) has culminated in DNM0904, an AcpS inhibitor suitable for systemic administration and therefore potentially applicable against a wide variety of infectious diseases. We are testing DNM0904 in multi-drug-resistant Gram-positive infections, in biodefense applications, and as an adjuvant for use with other antibiotics to treat Gram-negative infections. |
Team
DeNovaMed has a nimble team of experts moving these products through indication selection and into development including Christopher McMaster, PhD, a biochemist and bacterial lipid metabolism expert; Christopher Barden, PhD, a USPTO patent agent and experienced biotech executive; Donald Weaver, MD, PhD, a physician and medicinal chemist who has brought multiple compounds into clinic; and Z. Sam Ruttonsha, MBA, an investment banker with biotech C-suite and founder experience.
Contact DeNovaMed
Mailing Address: Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building, Dalhousie University Suite 1A-1; 5850 College Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4H7
Toronto Address: Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave 4KD473, Toronto, Ontario M5T 0S8
Email: info@denovamed.com