Arixa Pharmaceuticals

What Arixa Pharmaceuticals does

Arixa Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Founded in 2016, the company is focused on developing oral antibiotics for the treatment of drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections, addressing the global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis. Arixa's strategic thesis centers on orally bioavailable antibiotic formulations, an approach intended to enable outpatient treatment and reduce reliance on intravenous therapies that currently dominate care for resistant Gram-negative pathogens. The company operates with a small team of 11-50 employees.

Arixa is led by John Freund, who serves as both Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, and Eric Gordon, Chief Scientific Officer. The company has raised $13 million in a single funding round completed in May 2018; investors and lead backers for this round are not disclosed in available materials. No subsequent funding events, in-licensing transactions, partnership announcements, or pipeline disclosures are present in the current data set, which materially limits visibility into the company's recent trajectory and program status. There are no named products, no disclosed patents, and no commercial milestones in the input.

As a pre-revenue, privately held antibiotic developer, Arixa's business model depends on capital-markets funding rather than product sales. Pricing, customer segments, and go-to-market mechanics are not publicly disclosed in the available data, and the company does not appear to have any approved products, disclosed licensing revenue, or commercial partnerships based on the information provided. Note: a substantial portion of the aggregated source dataset refers to Pfizer Inc. and is not applicable to Arixa Pharmaceuticals; this description reflects only information that is pertinent to Arixa.

Name

Arixa Pharmaceuticals

Website

https://arixapharma.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arixa Pharmaceuticals is a Palo Alto-based biopharmaceutical company founded in 2016 developing oral antibiotics for drug-resistant Gram-negative infections. The company is led by CEO John Freund and CSO Eric Gordon and operates with 11-50 employees addressing antimicrobial resistance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Antibiotic Pharmaceuticals

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)

akta.pro primary industry

Infectious Disease & Antimicrobials Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAG)

Keywords

• Oral antibiotics
• Gram-negative infections
• Antimicrobial drug development
• Antibiotic resistance therapeutics
• Infectious disease drugs

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Arixa Pharmaceuticals is developing oral antibiotics designed to treat drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. The company focuses on creating orally bioavailable antibiotic candidates intended to address unmet medical needs in infections caused by resistant Gram-negative pathogens. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Arixa operates as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in the antimicrobial resistance therapeutic area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Oral Antibiotic Pipeline (Gram-negative Infections) Development-stage oral antibiotics targeting drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections for use by healthcare providers and patients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500,000+ lab tests and 36+ clinical trials per product before first prescription
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Accord for a Healthier World PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPfizer's Accord for a Healthier World is a global health equity initiative aimed at ensuring that where people live doesn't impact the quality of healthcare they receive and that income doesn't determine health outcomes. The initiative involves partnerships with global health organizations, governments, and NGOs to improve access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries.
• Research and Business Development PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPfizer maintains ongoing research and business development partnerships for collaborative drug discovery and development across therapeutic areas including Internal Medicine, Inflammation & Immunology, Vaccines, and Oncology.
• Pfizer CentreOne PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPfizer CentreOne serves as a strategic channel partner providing contract manufacturing and specialized distribution services for Pfizer and partner products.
• Supplier & B2B PartnersminorOthersPfizer maintains a network of suppliers and business-to-business partners supporting its global manufacturing and supply chain operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Entasis Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of antibiotics targeting serious drug-resistant Gram-negative infections (e.g., Xacduro for Acinetobacter). Most directly comparable to Arixa in therapeutic focus and pathogen class.
• VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals: Develops novel anti-infectives including Gram-negative agents (acquired by Pfizer in 2022). Closely comparable in mechanism focus on resistant Gram-negative pathogens.
• Iterum Therapeutics: Focused on oral antibiotics for resistant Gram-negative infections (sulopenem program). Comparable in delivery format (oral) and pathogen class.
• Spero Therapeutics: Anti-infectives company developing antibiotics for MDR Gram-negative and other resistant infections. Comparable in therapeutic area and stage of development.
• Melinta Therapeutics: Commercial-stage antibiotics company (Baxdela, Vabomere, Orbactiv) targeting resistant infections including Gram-negatives. Comparable in anti-infectives focus and resistance-oriented portfolio.
• Nabriva Therapeutics: Anti-infectives company with approved antibiotic (Xenleta) and pipeline addressing resistant community and hospital infections. Comparable in anti-infectives focus, though its primary franchise is Gram-positive respiratory.
• Paratek Pharmaceuticals: Develops tetracycline-class antibiotics (Nuzyra/omadacycline) including activity against resistant pathogens. Comparable as a small-cap anti-infectives specialist.

Broad incumbents

• Tetraphase Biosciences: Developed eravacycline (Xerava) for MDR Gram-negative infections; acquired by La Jolla Pharmaceutical in 2020. Comparable in approved/advanced Gram-negative antibiotic focus.

Others

• Achaogen: Developer of plazomicin for MDR Gram-negatives; filed for bankruptcy in 2019 post-approval. Comparable as a cautionary precedent in the commercial anti-infectives landscape.

Emerging players

• Cidara Therapeutics: Anti-infectives company developing both antiviral (Cloudbreak) and antibacterial approaches including resistant pathogens. Comparable as an emerging anti-infectives developer with overlapping therapeutic interest.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arixa Pharmaceuticals