When Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) was founded in 2016, the early-stage antibiotic pipeline was stalled.
Since its inception, CARB-X has supported 115 R&D projects in 14 countries, and CARB-X product developers have made significant progress.
Recently, CARB-X awarded Baxiva AG $3 million to develop its multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine to prevent extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) infections.
Baxiva’s proprietary conjugation platform streamlines the development of multivalent vaccines targeting the serotype-specific polysaccharides of Gram-negative bacteria, including capsule and O antigens.
The multivalent vaccine targets the most common serotypes associated with invasive ExPEC infections.
Multivalent vaccines are designed to prevent infections caused by multiple strains or types of a single pathogen. The glycoconjugate formulation combines polysaccharide (sugar) from a pathogen’s surface with a carrier protein to enhance immune response and therefore the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infections, a frequent cause of neonatal sepsis, and is among the leading causes of antimicrobial resistance-associated deaths globally.
“Vaccines are a powerful tool in the global effort to prevent infections and curb the spread of antimicrobial resistance,” said Erin Duffy, PhD, R&D Chief of CARB-X, in a press release on August 21, 2025.
“Baxiva’s multivalent glycoconjugate vaccine project explores a range of novel polysaccharide antigens in vaccine candidate solutions, addressing a critical unmet need in infection prevention.”
“We are excited to welcome Baxiva into the CARB-X portfolio and support the advancement of their platform.”
The E. coli bacteria cause most urinary tract infections (UTIs).
As of August 2025, UTI vaccines are unavailable in the United States.