Antibiotic News and Research

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Antibiotics are drugs used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms.

Stop & Shop to hold H1N1 vaccination clinics at select pharmacies

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company Giant today announced it will hold H1N1 vaccination clinics at select pharmacies starting January 8, 2010. Immunizations will cost $15 and be administered as long as quantities associated with this program are available.

5 Jan 2010

Research shows licorice root might be effective in fighting antibiotic-resistant infections

A team of scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospitals for Children show how a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns.

5 Jan 2010

AP series examines worldwide impact of drug resistance

The Associated Press reports on how the misuse of drugs worldwide has contributed to drug-resistant diseases in a series of articles following a six-month investigation by the news service.

5 Jan 2010

Elusys Therapeutics signs contract to complete the final development of Anthim

Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. (Elusys), a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has signed a contract potentially totaling up to $143 million to complete the final development, commercial manufacturing and licensure of Anthim, the company's late stage anthrax therapeutic.

5 Jan 2010

UT Southwestern doctor uses a viable alternative in aortic graft surgery

A vascular surgical technique pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center and designed to replace infected aortic grafts with the body's own veins has proved more durable and less prone to new infection than similar procedures using synthetic and cadaver grafts.

31 Dec 2009

Santarus submits rifamycin SV MMX IND to the FDA

Santarus, Inc., a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting approval to begin a Phase III clinical program evaluating rifamycin SV MMX® in patients with travelers’ diarrhea.

30 Dec 2009

Lakeshore General Hospital restricts patient visits as a result of bacterial outbreak

Lakeshore General Hospital, a West Island HSSC facility, is restricting patient visits in the 4-West medical unit as a result of a bacterial outbreak. Other services provided by this hospital centre will not be affected. This preventive measure will remain in place until January 5.

30 Dec 2009

Sudden worldwide increase in antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a cause for concern

A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports.

28 Dec 2009

Disinfectants can promote growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Using disinfectants could cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology.

28 Dec 2009

Growing public health threat from surge in drug-resistant strains of acinetobacter

A new study in the journal Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology reports a surge in drug-resistant strains of Acinetobacter, a dangerous type of bacteria that is becoming increasingly common in U.S. hospitals. This study is being posted online today and will appear in the journal's February print edition.

24 Dec 2009

Forest Laboratories acquires additional rights to NXL 104 beta-lactamase inhibitor

Forest Laboratories announced today its agreement to acquire additional rights to NXL 104, which amends the terms of its prior agreement with Novexel covering the combination of NXL 104 with ceftaroline and adds additional rights to the combination of ceftazidime and NXL 104, through a transaction with AstraZeneca executed immediately following AstraZeneca’s announced acquisition of Novexel, S.A.

24 Dec 2009

Bacterial DNA reveals a rise in antibiotic resistant genes

Antibiotic resistance in the natural environment is rising despite tighter controls over our use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, Newcastle University scientists have found.

24 Dec 2009

AstraZeneca signs definitive agreement to acquire Novexel

Novexel, a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics designed to overcome the significant global problem of microbial drug resistance, announces today that its shareholders have signed a definitive agreement whereby Novexel shall be acquired by AstraZeneca for a total cash consideration of up to $505 million, including contingent payments and the net cash position of the company at closing.

24 Dec 2009

GlobalPost examines antibiotic resistance in China

GlobalPost examines antibiotic resistance and overprescribing in China. The country "has high rates of antibiotic resistance and a health care system that provides strong financial incentives for over-prescribing antibiotics.

23 Dec 2009

Brazilian researchers perform autopsy study to examine the causes H1N1 death

Brazilian researchers have performed the first-ever autopsy study to examine the precise causes of death in victims of the H1N1 swine flu.

23 Dec 2009

Researchers develop new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a new approach for treating and healing skin abscesses caused by bacteria resistant to most antibiotics.

23 Dec 2009

New community-associated strain of MRSA more apt to cause serious problems

The often feared and sometimes deadly infections caused by MRSA - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus - are now moving out of hospitals and emerging as an even more virulent strain in community settings and on athletic teams, and raising new concerns about antibiotic resistance.

23 Dec 2009

AdvanDx receives FDA clearance for its 90 minutes PNA FISH protocol

AdvanDx today announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its E. coli/P. aeruginosa PNA FISH® and EK/P. aeruginosa PNA FISH® tests. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2.5 hours to 90 minutes by reducing PNA probe hybridization from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.

22 Dec 2009

Health Canada approves Prevnar 13 vaccine for invasive pneumococcal disease

Following a Priority Review, Health Canada has approved Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine (Diphtheria CRM197 Protein)) for children aged six weeks through five years for active immunization against invasive pneumococcal disease, a bacterial infection that can include meningitis (inflammation of the coverings of the brain and spinal cord), sepsis (bloodstream infection), bacteremic pneumonia, pleural empyema (accumulation of pus in the cavity surrounding the lungs) and bacteremia (bacteria in the blood).

22 Dec 2009

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009