Antimicrobial Drug News and Research

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Antimicrobials are substance that kills microorganisms such as bacteria or mold, or stops them from growing and causing disease.

MRSA - surveillance, rapid screening and hospital hygiene

The origins and future perspectives about meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are outlined in a Review in this week's issue of The Lancet.

31 Aug 2006

Chewing gum which fights tooth decay

Consumers will soon be able to buy a chewing gum which contains friendly bacteria which can help prevent tooth decay.

21 Aug 2006

Oragenics issued new patent for novel antibiotic peptide

Oragenics has announced that the US Patent office has issued a fourth patent (No. 7,067,125), that further describes the composition and uses of the company's exclusively licensed novel antibiotic peptide, MU1140.

8 Aug 2006

Reappraisal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa hospital-acquired pneumonia mortality

Patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria that is highly resistant to virtually all antibiotics are twice as likely to die as patients infected with other, less resistant bacteria.

6 Aug 2006

No wonder Brits worry more about MRSA than waiting lists

Scientists say they believe as many as 53 million people may carry the superbug MRSA.

21 Jun 2006

The antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin protects the urinary tract against invasive bacterial infection

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have succeeded in explaining how the body protects itself against urinary tract infections; with the help of an endogenous antibiotic.

9 Jun 2006

New antibiotic works against superbugs

A new antibiotic with the ability to fight drug-resistant superbugs has been developed by researchers at drug company Merck's research laboratories in New Jersey.

21 May 2006

Treating populations infected with both HIV and latent TB could speed the emergence of drug-resistant TB

In 2005, 46 regional Ministers of Health in Africa declared that a dramatic rise in tuberculosis (TB) cases was cause for emergency.

19 Apr 2006

Less antibiotic use in food animals leads to less drug resistance in people

Australia's policy of restricting antibiotic use in food-producing animals may be linked with lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria found in its citizens, according to an article in the May 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

18 Apr 2006

Scientists use bacteria found naturally in soil to produce new antibiotics in the fight against drug-resistant "Super-bugs"

Antibiotic resistance is a major problem worldwide and there is an urgent need for new antibiotics to be developed. Potential new drugs are usually made in the lab which is complicated and time-consuming.

30 Mar 2006

Potential therapeutic targets against serious side effects of smallpox vaccine

Smallpox is considered a potential terrorist weapon, but millions of people in the United States are currently advised not to get a vaccine to the disease because they are susceptible to developing a severe adverse reaction.

23 Mar 2006

FDA grants Cerexa fast track designation

Cerexa has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for PPI-0903, a next-generation, broad-spectrum, cephalosporin antibiotic, for the treatment of complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSI) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

17 Mar 2006

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals receives NDA for investigational HIV protease inhibitor

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals has announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for TMC114, an investigational HIV protease inhibitor, has been accepted for priority review by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

7 Mar 2006

New molecule could help in treating hospital infections

The scientists replaced a single atom from the molecular structure of vancomycin aglycon, a glycopeptide antibiotic that attacks the bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis, significantly increasing the drug's spectrum of activity.

24 Feb 2006

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections

Copper could help prevent the spread of flu infections. Recent research at the University of Southampton shows that the Influenza A virus is virtually eradicated within six hours on copper surfaces.

2 Feb 2006

New combination treatment that could dramatically shorten the length of tuberculosis treatment

The clinical results of a new combination treatment that could dramatically shorten the length of tuberculosis treatment were presented at a recent scientific conference in the USA. This virulent disease of the lungs still infects millions every year, with a notable resurgence in Europe, especially in the East.

10 Jan 2006

2 million people carry drug-resistant bacteria in their noses

New research estimates that about 2 million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in their noses.

21 Dec 2005

Good results with cervical cancer vaccine in young girls

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline have had a good result with their new vaccine which was designed to prevent infection with the virus that causes cervical cancer.

19 Dec 2005

Antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants cut infection rates

Putting antibacterial coatings on hip and knee implants and biomedical devices such as catheters could cut infection rates following surgery and significantly reduce health care costs and improve quality of life for patients, researchers at the University of South Australia have found.

13 Dec 2005

Carbonic anhydrase and CO2 sensing during Cryptococcus neoformans growth, differentiation, and virulence

By using pathogenic fungi as model systems for understanding fungal diseases, two groups of researchers are reporting new work that offers insight into how carbon dioxide (CO2) governs the morphogenic changes that allow pathogenic fungi to survive in different environments and invade the human body

21 Nov 2005