XF Platform

XF Platform

Novel XF-platform targeting infections

The XF drug platform has a novel, ultra-rapid mechanism that reduces the chance of bacteria becoming resistant to its action.
Destiny Pharma’s XF platform has advantages over traditional antibiotics. The key potential benefits are significant:

Ultra-rapid bacteria kill
Studies have shown the XF drugs killing bacteria in vitro in less than 15 minutes; faster acting than standard antibiotics currently in use.

Ability to kill bacteria in any growth phase
This is an important feature as bacteria are not always actively growing. XF drugs are able to kill bacteria even when dormant.

Ability to kill bacteria within staphylococcal bacterial biofilms
Biofilms are an increasing problem that are poorly treated by current drugs as they act as a protective barrier for bacteria. They are associated with indwelling medical devices (for example, heart valves and joint replacements) and invasive medical devices (for example, catheters and endoscopes).

Active against all gram-positive bacteria tested to date and selected gram-negative bacteria
This includes clinically important and infection-causing strains, such as:

  • Staphylococcus aureus;
  • Propionibacterium acnes;
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis;
  • Bacillus anthracis;
  • Acinetobacter baumannii;
  • Clostridium difficile.
  • Listeria monocytogenes;
  • Group G Streptococcus;
  • Streptococcus pneumonia;
  • Yersinia pestis;
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa;

All existing antibiotic resistant strains of gram-positive bacteria tested to date are susceptible to XF drugs, including MRSA.

No bacterial (MRSA) resistance is seen to emerge
No bacterial (MRSA) resistance was seen to emerge in a landmark in vitro study of bacterial resistance that compared XF-73 to standard antibiotics currently in use. The bacteria (MRSA) did not demonstrate any resistance to XF-73 even after 55 repeat exposures (being the longest repeat exposure study published as far as the company is aware This data was published in the prestigious journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in June 2011 (Volume 55, pages 1177 to 1181) and reviewed in June 2020 in Trends in Microbiology (Volume 28, pages 432 to 435). In contrast, MRSA rapidly developed significant resistance to a range of antibiotics tested. A second study using clinical bacterial samples from a clinical trial of XF-73 provided the first clinical data supporting the same “no resistance profile”.

XF 73

The XF drugs can therefore potentially operate within existing antibiotic markets and may also be able to open new preventative and therapeutic drug markets that are closed to, or restricted for, traditional antibiotics because of the existence and/or threat of AR. This threat means that antibiotics have to be used sparingly to limit the development of bacterial resistance. The XF Drug Platform includes both the XF drug series and the related DPD drug series and incorporates an array of compounds based around a di-cationic porphyrin ring structure and is protected by a series of global patents and agreements.