NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, preclinical-stage Cambridge, MA biotechnology company that uses proprietary iChip in situ cultivation technology to access previously unculturable microorganisms and discover first-in-class antibiotics such as teixobactin and clovibactin, funded primarily through NIH, U.S. Army, and Gates Foundation grants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals does
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, LLC is a privately held, preclinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics from natural sources. The company's core innovation is a proprietary cultivation platform — most notably the iChip, a miniaturized diffusion chamber that enables isolation of the >99% of environmental microorganisms previously considered unculturable — which has produced a proprietary collection of over 75,000 microbial isolates. From this library the company has discovered and is developing multiple first-in-class antibiotic candidates, including teixobactin (in late preclinical development, with GMP manufacturing and human dosing work funded by the U.S. Army) and clovibactin/Novo29 (preclinical), both of which target bacterial cell wall precursors and have shown no detectable resistance in laboratory studies. Additional programs target Mycobacterium tuberculosis, anthrax biodefense, and the fungal pathogen Candida auris.
The company's business model is grant-funded R&D rather than commercial sales. NovoBiotic generates operating revenue through competitive awards from U.S. government agencies — primarily NIH/NIAID (SBIR grants across Phase I and Phase II) and the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USAMRAA) — supplemented by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for global-health applications. Since 2015 the company has received twelve or more grant awards totaling roughly $30M. The long-term commercial pathway is licensing or partnership with larger pharmaceutical companies once candidates advance through clinical development; the company has no marketed products and does not currently disclose pricing or licensing economics. Leadership is a four-person executive team (Dallas Hughes, President; Lucy Ling, VP of Biology; Amy Spoering, Director of Biological Research; Aaron Peoples, Director of Chemistry), with ongoing scientific guidance from Kim Lewis at Northeastern University, a co-inventor of the iChip technology.
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals
- Legal name
- NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, LLC
- Website
- https://novobiotic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, preclinical-stage Cambridge, MA biotechnology company that uses proprietary iChip in situ cultivation technology to access previously unculturable microorganisms and discover first-in-class antibiotics such as teixobactin and clovibactin, funded primarily through NIH, U.S. Army, and Gates Foundation grants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Novel Antibiotic Drug Discovery
- NAICS
- Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414)
- SIC
- Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Infectious Disease Specialty Pharmaceuticals (Non-vaccine) (HLAIACAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Infectious Disease & Antimicrobials Pharmaceuticals (HLAIAAAG)
Keywords
Where NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grant Funding: NovoBiotic generates revenue through competitive government grants from NIH/NIAID, U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund preclinical antibiotic development programs.
- Future Drug Development: The company is focused on developing novel antibiotics through preclinical stages with plans to commercialize through licensing agreements or partnerships with pharmaceutical companies once candidates advance through clinical development.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals discovers and develops novel antibiotics from natural sources using its proprietary iChip in situ cultivation platform, which enables isolation of previously unculturable microorganisms. Its lead preclinical assets include teixobactin (late preclinical) and clovibactin/Novo29 (preclinical), both first-in-class antibiotics targeting drug-resistant bacterial pathogens including MRSA, VRE, tuberculosis, and anthrax. The company has no commercially approved products and plans to advance candidates through clinical development toward pharmaceutical licensing or partnership.
Product overview
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a privately held, early stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of new antibiotics from natural sources. The company operates a proprietary discovery platform based on in situ cultivation technologies (iChip, diffusion chambers) that enable access to previously unculturable microorganisms representing over 99% of microbial diversity. Their core products include teixobactin (in late preclinical development) and clovibactin/Novo29 (in preclinical development), both novel antibiotics targeting drug-resistant bacterial pathogens.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Teixobactin Teixobactin is a novel antibiotic compound belonging to a new class that kills bacteria through a two-pronged attack on the cell envelope by binding lipid II and lipid III precursors. It is highly potent against Gram-positive pathogens including MRSA, VRE, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Bacillus anthracis, and is currently in late preclinical development.
- Clovibactin (Novo29) Clovibactin (also referred to as Novo29) is a new antimicrobial compound discovered using NovoBiotic's proprietary culturing platform that inhibits cell wall synthesis and kills a wide range of Gram-positive pathogens including MRSA, tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and anthrax, with no spontaneous resistance detected.
- iChip Technology Platform iChip is a proprietary miniaturized diffusion chamber technology that enables single-step isolation and cultivation of previously unculturable microorganisms in their natural environment, providing access to >99% of microbial diversity for natural product antibiotic discovery.
Companies that use NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- Cell Journal - International Research CoalitionmajorCollaboration with international coalition of laboratories reporting discovery of clovibactin, published in Cell journal. Represents multi-institutional effort in antibiotic discovery and mechanism-of-action studies.
- Northeastern University / Kim Lewis LabcoreLong-standing collaboration with Dr. Kim Lewis at Northeastern University, co-inventor of the iChip technology and Director of Antimicrobial Discovery Center. Dr. Lewis is a University Distinguished Professor and co-developed the core intellectual property underlying NovoBiotic's discovery platform.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Melinta Therapeutics: Marketer of multiple FDA-approved antibiotics (Baxdela, Orbactiv, Minocin IV) targeting serious bacterial infections. Representative of the broader established antibiotic commercial market that NovoBiotic's assets would eventually enter.
- Paratek Pharmaceuticals: Commercial-stage specialty antibiotic company (Nuzyra/omadacycline) with a broader tetracycline-derived antibiotic portfolio. Comparable novel-mechanism antibiotic focus with established commercial infrastructure serving the same prescriber base.
Emerging players
- Vedanta Biosciences: Developer of defined bacterial consortia derived from proprietary microbial culturing and isolation techniques for immune and infectious-disease indications. Comparable microbe-discovery approach and clinical-stage antibiotic-adjacent pipeline.
- Seres Therapeutics: Clinical-stage microbiome therapeutics company (Vowst, approved 2023) that similarly leverages proprietary microbial biology for infectious-disease applications. Overlap with NovoBiotic's microbiome/microbial-natural-product discovery platform approach.
- Locus Biosciences: Developer of engineered phage and CRISPR-based antimicrobials targeting drug-resistant bacteria, including E. coli and P. aeruginosa infections. Comparable AMR-focused biotech using a novel biological-discovery platform.
Direct peers
- Iterum Therapeutics: Focused exclusively on developing differentiated antibiotics (oral sulopenem) for multi-drug resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive infections. Similar small-team, single-therapeutic-area biotech profile targeting the AMR crisis.
- Cidara Therapeutics: Biotech developing novel antifungal and antibacterial agents, including cloudbreak antiviral-antibody conjugates and rezafungin (FDA-approved echinocandin). Comparable mission to address drug-resistant infections with new chemical matter.
- VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals: Private clinical-stage developer of novel antibiotics including β-lactamase inhibitors (taniborbactam) and direct-acting antibacterial agents against WHO priority pathogens. Closely comparable in stage, scale, and AMR-focused mission.
- Entasis Therapeutics: Clinical-stage developer of novel antibiotics targeting drug-resistant Gram-negative infections, including lead asset sulbactam-durlobactam for Acinetobacter. Directly comparable as a small, focused antibacterial discovery company pursuing differentiated mechanisms of action.
Others
- Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals: Predecessor developer of eravacycline (Xerava) — a synthetic tetracycline antibiotic approved for complicated intra-abdominal infections. Provides a cautionary comparable for capital-intensive antibiotic development and ultimate acquisition economics.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals social profiles
Digital presenceNovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals
What does NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals do?
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals discovers and develops novel antibiotics from natural sources using its proprietary iChip in situ cultivation platform, which enables isolation of previously unculturable microorganisms. Its lead preclinical assets include teixobactin (late preclinical) and clovibactin/Novo29 (preclinical), both first-in-class antibiotics targeting drug-resistant bacterial pathogens including MRSA, VRE, tuberculosis, and anthrax. The company has no commercially approved products and plans to advance candidates through clinical development toward pharmaceutical licensing or partnership.
Is NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals a public or private company?
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals founded?
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals based?
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Grant Funding is the primary driver. The others are future Drug Development.
Who are NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Melinta Therapeutics and Paratek Pharmaceuticals. Emerging players are Vedanta Biosciences, Seres Therapeutics and Locus Biosciences. Direct peers are Iterum Therapeutics, Cidara Therapeutics, VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals and Entasis Therapeutics. Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals is listed as an others.
Does NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals have an API?
No public API is recorded for NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals.
What industry is NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals in?
NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals's product category is Novel Antibiotic Drug Discovery. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAIACAM, Infectious Disease Specialty Pharmaceuticals (Non-vaccine), with a secondary code of HLAIAAAG, Infectious Disease & Antimicrobials Pharmaceuticals. Its NAICS code is 325412 and its SIC code is 2834.