Contrafect to test S. aureus therapy in Phase III despite Phase II miss

Exebacase (CF-301) from ContraFect Corp. (NASDAQ:CFRX) plus standard of care (SOC) antibiotics missed the primary endpoint of improving clinical response rate at day 14 vs. SOC alone in a Phase II trial to treat Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (70.4% vs. 60%, p=0.314).

Despite the miss, the company plans to start Phase III testing to evaluate the product in patient subgroups in which the Staphylococcal-specific lysin protein improved the clinical response rate by ≥20%. ContraFect said it plans to meet with FDA and EMA to discuss the design of the Phase III program...