YONKERS, NY--(Marketwired - June 01, 2017) - ContraFect Corporation (NASDAQ: CFRX), a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of protein and antibody therapeutics for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, today announces five poster presentations of new data from the CF-301 development program at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Microbe 2017 conference to be held on June 1-5, 2017 in New Orleans, LA.

ContraFect's lead compound, CF-301 is the first member of the lysin class to enter Phase 2 of clinical development in the US for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus) bacteremia including endocarditis.

Initial data from the Phase 1, first-in-human study of CF-301 in healthy volunteers, presented in 2016, demonstrated CF-301 to be well-tolerated with no clinical adverse safety signals. New analyses of clinical data from this Phase 1 trial which further support the safety profile of CF-301 will be presented. In addition, new data from the CF-301 clinical microbiology program will be presented. These data further elucidate the post-antibiotic effect and favorable resistance profile of CF-301, and validate a newly developed methodology for testing the susceptibility of bacteria to CF-301 in the clinical setting.

"We are pleased to present new data from the CF-301 Phase 1 study which advance our understanding of the clinical response to CF-301 administration. The overall safety profile observed in the Phase 1 study, including the absence of acute cardiovascular and inflammatory responses to CF-301 during and after dosing, is encouraging. Furthermore, we are excited by new in vitro data which demonstrates that very low concentrations CF-301 may potentiate conventional antibiotics by increasing susceptibility to antibiotics, decreasing biofilm formation, inhibiting virulence and reducing bacterial growth rates," said Cara Cassino, M.D., EVP of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer at ContraFect.

Presentation Details:

Presentation Title: Inflammatory Markers in a Phase 1 Placebo Controlled Dose Escalating Study of Intravenous Doses of CF-301 in Human Subjects
Session Day & Time: Friday Jun 2, 2017 12:45 PM - 2:45 PM CT (1:45 PM-3:45 PM ET)
Poster Number: 321

Presentation Title: Low Propensity of Resistance Development In Vitro in Staphylococcus aureus with Lysin CF-301
Session Day & Time: Friday Jun 2, 2017 12:45 PM - 2:45 PM CT (1:45 PM-3:45 PM ET)
Poster number: 332

Presentation Title: The Sub-MIC Effect of CF-301 on Staphylococcus aureus
Session Day & Time: Friday Jun 2, 2017 12:45 PM - 2:45 PM CT (1:45 PM-3:45 PM ET)
Poster number: 182

Presentation Title: Quality Control Studies of CF-301 versus Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212
Session Day & Time: Friday Jun 2, 2017 12:45 PM - 2:45 PM CT (1:45 PM-3:45 PM ET)
Poster number: 935

Presentation Title: Population Phamacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Assessment of Cardiac Safety Endpoints for CF-301, a First-In-Class Antibacterial Lysin
Session Day & Time: Saturday Jun 3, 2017 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM CT (1:15 PM-3:15 PM ET)
Poster number: 1157

The abstracts can be accessed through the ASM Microbe website. Following the meeting, the presentation posters will be available on the ContraFect Corporation website.

About ContraFect:

ContraFect is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing therapeutic protein and antibody products for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, particularly those treated in hospital settings. An estimated 700,000 deaths worldwide each year are attributed to antimicrobial-resistant infections. We intend to address life threatening infections using our therapeutic product candidates from our lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms to target conserved regions of either bacteria or viruses (regions that are not prone to mutation). ContraFect's initial product candidates include new agents to treat antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) and influenza. ContraFect is also conducting research focused on the discovery of lysins to target Gram-negative bacteria.

About CF-301:

CF-301 is a recombinant bacteriophage-derived lysin with potent bactericidal activity against Staph aureus, a major cause of blood stream infections, or bacteremia. CF-301 has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment for Staph aureus bacteremia. It has a novel, rapid, and specific mechanism of bactericidal action against Staph aureus and does not impact the body's natural bacterial flora. By targeting a conserved region of the cell wall that is vital to bacteria, resistance is less likely to develop to CF-301. Combinations of CF-301 with standard of care antibiotics significantly increased bacterial killing and survival in animal models of disease when compared to treatment with antibiotics or CF-301 alone. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that CF-301 is highly active against biofilm infections. CF-301 was licensed from The Rockefeller University and is being developed at ContraFect and is the first lysin to enter clinical studies in the U.S.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains, and our officers and representatives may make from time to time, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential," "promise" or similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, statements regarding our ability to discover and develop protein and antibody therapeutics for life-threatening, drug-resistant infectious diseases, whether new data on CF-301 supports its safety profile and potentiates conventional antibiotics by increasing susceptibility to antibiotics, decreasing biofilm formation, inhibiting virulence and reducing bacterial growth rates, our ability to address life threatening infections using our therapeutic product candidates from our lysin and monoclonal antibody platforms to target conserved regions of either bacteria or viruses, whether our initial product candidates can treat antibiotic-resistant infections such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) and influenza, and our ability to discover new lysins targeting Gram-negative bacteria. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based on ContraFect's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of its business, future plans, strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond ContraFect's control, including those detailed in ContraFect's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ include, among others, our ability to develop treatments for drug-resistant infectious diseases. Any forward-looking statement made by ContraFect in this press release is based only on information currently available and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Except as required by applicable law, ContraFect expressly disclaims any obligations to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.