Biotechnology company Armata Pharmaceuticals Inc (NYSE American:ARMP) announced on Thursday that it has received an additional USD4.65m of non-dilutive funding pursuant to a previously announced US Department of Defense (DoD) award.

This award, previously totalling USD26.2m, supports clinical development of Armata's optimised phage candidate, AP-SA02, as a potential treatment for complicated Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB). The additional USD4.65m will be used to support Phase 2a study close out activities, as well as for the preparation and execution of an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The diSArm study is a Phase 1b/2a, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple ascending dose escalation study of the safety, tolerability and efficacy of intravenous AP-SA02 as an adjunct to best available antibiotic therapy compared to best available antibiotic therapy alone for the treatment of adults with SAB. The study achieved full enrolment of 50 subjects in November 2024, with the last patient visit having taken place in January 2025. During the execution of the trial, Armata was able to dose escalate to 5e10 PFU every six hours (2E11 PFU every 24 hours) for five days without clinically significant adverse events.

As of now, the company anticipates receipt of topline data in the next few weeks. Topline results are also expected to inform the optimal dose of AP-SA02 to be evaluated in the larger definitive efficacy study.