Israeli biopharmaceutical company Omnix Medical announced it has raised $25 million in Series C funding to advance its lead antimicrobial compound OMN6 through critical Phase II trials targeting drug-resistant bacterial infections. The round was co-led by Harel Insurance & Finance and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, with participation from existing shareholders Entrée Capital, Tal Ventures, Xenia Ventures, and Oriella Limited, alongside new investors Prevail Partners and OurCrowd.
The financing brings Omnix's total funding to $43 million since its founding in 2015 and will enable the company to complete Phase II proof-of-concept studies for OMN6, focusing on life-threatening infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, particularly Acinetobacter baumannii strains resistant to last-line treatments including carbapenems and colistin.
Novel Mechanism Targets Bacterial Membranes
OMN6 represents a first-in-class antimicrobial peptide with a fundamentally different approach to combating bacterial infections. Unlike traditional antibiotics that target specific bacterial functions, OMN6 acts by destroying bacterial cell membranes directly through rapid pore formation. This mechanism enables fast bactericidal action that is effective regardless of bacterial genotype or resistance phenotype.
"OMN6's unique selectivity for bacterial membranes, its rapid pore-forming action, and its engineered stability are fundamentally different approaches to fighting resistant pathogens," said Dr. Niv Bachnoff, Chief Scientific Officer at Omnix Medical. "These qualities not only enable fast and effective treatment but also significantly minimize the likelihood of resistance development."
The compound binds specifically to the unique lipid composition of bacterial membranes and rapidly forms pores that destabilize and destroy them, leading to swift bacterial death. Its engineered stability and ability to avoid enzymatic degradation enable shorter treatment durations while minimizing resistance development risk.
FDA Recognition and Clinical Progress
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted OMN6 both Fast-Track and Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designations, recognizing its potential to address unmet medical needs in treating serious bacterial infections. The compound has demonstrated excellent preclinical and clinical results regarding efficacy, potency, and safety, while maintaining high stability and bioactivity.
"With the co-leadership of Harel Insurance & Finance and the EIC Fund, and the strong continued support of our existing shareholders, we now have the resources to complete Phase II proof-of-concept studies of OMN6, strengthen our regulatory and manufacturing capabilities, and advance our entire pipeline," said Dr. Moshik Cohen-Kutner, CEO of Omnix Medical.
Addressing Global Health Crisis
The funding underscores the urgent global need for novel antimicrobials capable of overcoming bacterial resistance. Tomer Goldberg, Vice President and Managing Director of Harel Technology Investments, emphasized the societal importance of the investment: "The rise of antibiotic-resistant infections is not just a medical crisis - it's a societal one. At Harel, we are dedicated to supporting innovation and biotech, and we believe that companies like Omnix are essential to ensuring the development of effective treatments that protect lives and promote long-term wellbeing."
The new funding will also support regulatory preparations, manufacturing scale-up, and pipeline development of other engineered antimicrobial peptides beyond OMN6. Omnix's technology platform is based on engineered antimicrobial peptides designed for high selectivity toward bacterial membranes, offering a promising approach to combat the growing threat of multidrug-resistant infections.
Since its founding at the VLX Ventures incubator in 2015, Omnix has received support from the Israeli Innovation Authority, a competitive EIC Accelerator grant from the European Union, and research funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to advance its lead program.
