ContraFect Corporation announced the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1b/2 of exebacase in the setting of an arthroscopic debridement, antibiotics, irrigation, and retention (DAIR) procedure in patients with chronic prosthetic joint infections (PJI) of the knee due to Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) or Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CoNS. The Phase 1b/2 study of exebacase is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study conducted in France to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and efficacy of intra-articularly administered exebacase in patients with chronic PJI of the knee due to S. aureus or CoNS. The study will be conducted in two parts.

Part I will assess efficacy at an early, six-week timepoint in addition to safety and PK. Part II will be a long-term clinical safety and efficacy follow-up for a period of up to two years. Patients entering the study will be randomized 3:1 to either exebacase or placebo, with all patients receiving study drug in the setting of a DAIR Procedure.