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n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m J a n u a r y / F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 9 | n e w h a v e n B I Z 25 bloodstream infections. "ere's a possibility it may just die, which would just be very, very sad," says Moore of the ESKAPE development program, if not of Melinta itself. "Here we have the National Institutes of Health running programs to try and get new antibiotics developed — especially ones for treating drug-resistant diseases caused by drug-resistant pathogens. at's exactly what those guys have been doing and yet it's all about to just vanish." Still, Moore and Froshauer remain hopeful the abandoned research will be "rescued," ei- ther through another drugmaker or non-profit picking up the programs, or through the launching of a spinoff. "e potential is still there to use that ribo- some system and the computational chemistry knowledge that has now advanced tremen- dously. ere's a phoenix that could rise. . .and that's sort of where I hope that we could imagine something happening," says Froshau- er. "But that's all going to be determined by the senior management [at Melinta]." Melinta officials declined to be interviewed for this article and would not comment direct- ly on the future of its New Haven operations or the company's ongoing research projects. In a statement, the company said it was looking for strategic partners to take on discovery re- search activities housed at the New Haven facility. "As an organization, we continue to believe strongly in the need for new antibiotics," the statement said. "We will look to source our innovation externally going forward and focus on excellence in development and commercial- ization as we work to become a strong, cash- flow positive company in a difficult external environment." Jon Soderstrom, managing director of Yale's Office of Cooperative Research, says he's con- fident the displaced R&D team will be able to find new opportunities in New Haven. Yale has been spinning off between 10 and 12 venture capital startups a year for the last few years, Soderstrom says, and other biotechs, such as Biohaven and Arvinas, are growing. He downplays the layoffs at Melinta as part of its natural transition to a commercial-stage com- pany, rather than a setback for the industry. "ere's a lot of good going on in this area right now that should lead to opportunities for anyone who's looking for a position," Soder- strom says. "ese are highly capable chemists. . .and I find it hard to believe that we won't be successful helping them find their next gig, whether it's together or separately." n For information on our print and digital advertising opportunities, contact Ronni Rabin at rrabin@newhavenbiz.com or call 203-937-2148 (x 707) New Haven's Business Community has a strong, new voice newhavenbiz.com If you're trying to sell something, its not easy to get to the CEO. You can reach around the wall of defense by putting your message in New Haven BIZ. We're reaching the tough to access decision makers in greater New Haven that can buy from you. Get your message into the C-suite with New Haven BIZ. Reach the Corner Office M e l i n t a T h e r a p e u t i c s November Melinta laid off 22 of 25 New Haven workers.

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