 Exebacase Phase 2 study results published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Continued patient enrollment in ongoing Phase 3 DISRUPT study of exebacaseSuccessful public equity offering, private placement with Pfizer Inc., and CARB-X grant provide significant funding to advance lead product candidatesYONKERS, New York, Aug. 14, 2020 GLOBE NEWSWIRE -- ContraFect Corporation Nasdaq: CFRX, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of direct lytic agents DLAs, including lysins and amurin peptides, as new medical modalities for the treatment of life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced financial results and business updates for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020.We continued to advance the Phase 3 DISRUPT superiority study of our FDA designated Breakthrough Therapy new modality drug candidate, exebacase, while taking steps to meaningfully strengthen the Companys financial position. We were very pleased to have received a significant CARB-X award, an important acknowledgment of our novel approach to developing medicines for infectious disease. ContraFect also completed a successful public offering and private placement which have provided valuable resources that will support our efforts to develop potentially transformative, first-in-class, first-in-field treatments for life-threatening infections, said Roger J. Pomerantz, M.D., President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of ContraFect.Q2 2020 Highlights and Recent Developments In July, the Company announced that CARB-X Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator, a global non-profit partnership dedicated to accelerating antibacterial research and development, is awarding the Company up to 18.9 million in additional non-dilutive capital to progress its second product candidate, CF-370, an engineered lysin targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa P. aeruginosa, in IND-enabling activities toward future Phase 1 clinical trials. The award provides initial funding of 4.9 million, and ContraFect could receive additional funding at the discretion of CARB-X if certain project milestones are met. In June, the Company announced the publication of the exebacase Phase 2 study results in the July 1, 2020 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The study results established clinical proof-of-concept for exebacase and informed the design of the ongoing Phase 3 DISRUPT Direct Lysis of Staph aureus Resistant Pathogen Trial study of exebacase for the treatment of patients with Staph aureus bloodstream infections BSIs, including right-sided endocarditis. In June, the Company announced the appointment of Lishan Aklog, M.D. to the Companys board of directors. Dr. Aklog is Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PAVmed Inc. Nasdaq: PAVM. Dr. Aklog has also served as Executive Chairman of Lucid Diagnostics Inc. since its inception in 2018, as a co-founding Partner of both Pavilion Holdings Group LLC, a medical device holding company, since its inception in 2007, and Pavilion Medical Innovations LLC, a venture-backed medical device incubator, since its inception in 2009. In May, the Company announced that Pfizer Inc. NYSE: PFE entered into a stock purchase agreement to purchase ContraFect securities for approximately 3.0 million in a private placement transaction. This was the second investment by Pfizer in ContraFect. The recent private placement was concurrent with an underwritten public equity offering. The gross proceeds from the public offering were approximately 52.5 million. Both transactions closed on May 27, 2020.Ongoing COVID-19 Response ContraFect continues to actively monitor the evolving impact of COVID-19 on its business and operations, with a primary focus on the health and safety of employees. After initial shutdown restrictions were put in place in March, operations were immediately adjusted, enabling the majority of employees to work remotely. Once the Company re-opened its laboratories in the second quarter, health and safety measures were implemented to address risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These included strict cleaning and sanitizing plans, daily screening for COVID-19 symptoms, mandatory use of personal protective equipment and social distancing measures for on-site employees. The Phase 3 DISRUPT study of exebacase is ongoing. The Company continues to enroll patients and open new clinical trial sites across the United States. The study continues to experience some delays in patient enrollment due to the diversion of healthcare resources resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in certain high impact areas.Second Quarter 2020 Financial Results Research and development RD expenses were 5.5 million for the second quarter of 2020 compared to 4.8 million in the comparable period in 2019. This increase was primarily attributable to increases in spending for the ongoing Phase 3 clinical study of exebacase and the chemistry, manufacturing and controls activities that will ultimately support a biologics license application for exebacase. The Company also increased both clinical headcount and external professional support for the Phase 3 clinical study. General and administrative GA expenses were 2.6 million for both the second quarter of 2020 and 2019. Although there was no overall change, there was an increase in administrative headcount and related personnel costs which was offset by a decrease in costs incurred for intellectual property and general corporate legal fees. Net loss was 17.6 million, or a loss of 0.88 per share, for the second quarter of 2020 compared to a net loss of 8.7 million, or a loss of 1.09 per share, for the comparable period in 2019. The net loss per share in the current period includes a 5.9 million, or 0.30 per share, increase in the non-cash charge for the change in the fair value of warrant liabilities and a 2.2 million, or 0.11 per share, non-cash charge for the allocation of offering expenses. As of June 30, 2020, ContraFect had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of 58.3 million.About DISRUPT:DISRUPT is an ongoing, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase 3 clinical study of exebacase for the treatment of Staph aureus bacteremia, including right-sided endocarditis. This study compares the efficacy, safety and tolerability of exebacase used in addition to SOC antibiotics to SOC antibiotics alone. DISRUPT is designed to enroll approximately 350 patients randomized 2:1 to receive either a single dose of exebacase administered as a 2-hour IV infusion in addition to SOC antibiotics or placebo plus SOC antibiotics. The primary efficacy endpoint is clinical response at day 14. Secondary endpoints include clinical response at Day 14 in all Staph aureus patients MRSA and MSSA, 30-day all-cause mortality in MRSA patients, and clinical response at day 30 and day 60 in both MRSA and all Staph aureus patients. The principal investigator is Dr. Vance Fowler, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Duke University.About Exebacase CF-301:Exebacase is a recombinantly-produced lysin cell wall hydrolase enzyme with potent bactericidal activity against Staph aureus, a major cause of bloodstream infections BSIs also known as bacteremia. Exebacase has the potential to be a first-in-class treatment for Staph aureus bacteremia. It has a novel, rapid, and specific mechanism of action that targets the peptidoglycan cell wall that is vital to Staph aureus bacteria. In addition, in vitro and in vivo experiments have shown that exebacase is highly active against biofilms which complicate Staph aureus infections. Exebacase was licensed from The Rockefeller University and is being developed at ContraFect.About ContraFect:ContraFect is a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing differentiated biologic therapies 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 platform of DLAs, which include lysins and amurin peptides. Lysins are a new class of DLAs which are recombinantly produced antimicrobial proteins with a novel mechanism of action associated with the rapid killing of target bacteria, eradication of biofilms and synergy with conventional antibiotics. Amurin peptides are a new class of DLAs, which exhibit broad-spectrum activity against a wide range of antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa P. aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Enterobacter species. We believe that the properties of our lysins and amurin peptides will make them suitable for targeting antibiotic-resistant organisms, such as MRSA and P. aeruginosa, which can cause serious infections such as bacteremia, pneumonia and osteomyelitis. Our lead lysin candidate, exebacase, was granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of MRSA bloodstream infections bacteremia, including right-sided endocarditis, when used in addition to standard-of-care SOC anti-staphylococcal antibiotics in adult patients. 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