Immtech International

Immtech Pharmaceuticals, formerly known as Immtech International, was a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing oral treatments for infectious diseases, particularly neglected tropical diseases. The company utilized a proprietary library of dicationic compounds designed to bind to the minor groove of DNA in pathogens to inhibit replication. Its lead product candidate, pafuramidine maleate (DB289), reached Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and Phase 2 for Pneumocystis pneumonia. However, in 2008, the company halted all clinical development of pafuramidine after patients in a Phase 3 trial exhibited signs of liver and kidney toxicity. Following this failure, the company ceased significant operations and was eventually delisted from the NASDAQ.