SSG Capital Advisors served as the investment banker to the Chapter 7 trustee of ContraFect Corporation in the sale of substantially all intellectual property assets to Aurobac Therapeutics, a joint venture between Boehringer Ingelheim, Evotec and bioMérieux that focuses on developing precision medicine to fight antimicrobial resistance. The transaction closed in March through a Section 363 sale process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
ContraFect Corporation was a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of direct lytic agents (DLAs), including lysins and amurin peptides, as new medical modalities for the treatment of life-threatening and antibiotic-resistant infections across multiple indications, including staphylococcus and MRSA.
The company’s primary drug candidate commenced a Phase 3 clinical trial in early 2020. The clinical trial was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the outcome failed to meet the primary endpoint. Subsequently, the company shifted focus to a new indication, which was a first-in-class lysin with broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative pathogens, which failed its interim analysis compared to a placebo. Due to liquidity challenges, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in December 2023.
SSG was retained by the Chapter 7 trustee in January to conduct an expedited marketing process and solicit offers for substantially all of ContraFect’s assets. After canvassing a range of investors, SSG received several qualified bids, resulting in an auction in March with multiple rounds of bidding. The final bid from Aurobac Therapeutics ultimately prevailed.
