Daré Bioscience Announces Grant to Support Biotherapeutic Product Development

Grant funds support activities that will aid the ultimate development of bacteria-based biotherapeutic products designed to benefit women and newborns

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Daré Bioscience, Inc. (NASDAQ: DARE), a leader in women’s health innovation, today announced it has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (the foundation) of $750,000 to fund activities related to bacteria-based live biotherapeutic product development. Daré previously received a grant of approximately $585,000 from the foundation for development of a hydrogel formulation for delivery of live biotherapeutics to support vaginal health in November 2022.

The additional grant is intended to cover the costs of Daré personnel to gather and analyze data on the global bacterial biologic supply chain to help the foundation identify potential Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) partners for manufacturing clinical and commercial supplies of bacteria-based biotherapeutic products.

“Daré was selected to conduct this landscape review given our proven ability to find, audit and recommend global manufacturers capable of commercial scale therapeutic production, as we have done for XACIATO^TM (clindamycin phosphate) vaginal gel 2%. This work will benefit women and newborns as the primary patient populations for interventions where bacteria consortia products are an important modality in the therapeutic arsenal,” said David Friend, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Daré Bioscience. “As Daré continues to accelerate the development of differentiated products for women, we are grateful for the foundation’s continued support and look forward to applying our expertise to help the foundation identify global CMOs best-positioned to manufacture bacteria-based biotherapeutic products that could have a meaningful impact on the lives of women and newborns everywhere.”

About Daré Bioscience

Daré Bioscience is a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing innovative products for women’s health. The company’s mission is to identify, develop and bring to market a diverse portfolio of differentiated therapies that prioritize women's health and well-being, expand treatment options, and improve outcomes, primarily in the areas of contraception, vaginal health, reproductive health, menopause, sexual health and fertility.