Clostridium News and Research

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Inquiry into the hospital acquired killer bug starts

A Second World War veteran John Boyle died of Clostridium difficile infection after being admitted to hospital for the first time at the age of 90. He was diagnosed with the infection on January 25 this year and succumbed to it two weeks later. He was one of 18 patients to die at a Scottish hospital when the outbreak of this hospital-acquired infection was reported.

8 Jun 2010

Xenex Healthcare Services announces commercial launch of pulsed xenon room disinfection system

Xenex Healthcare Services LLC, which specializes in developing disinfection technology for healthcare facilities, today announced the commercial launch of its pulsed xenon room disinfection system and the conclusion of the Xenex system's successful trial at a leading U.S. cancer center. The Xenex system, which is now available, is the fastest, safest, and most effective method for the advanced cleaning of hospital rooms in the world today, quickly destroying all major classes of microorganisms (including viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores) without contact or chemicals.

8 Jun 2010

Progenics presents preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by C. difficile

Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical data on novel monoclonal antibodies against toxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). The monoclonal antibodies effectively neutralized the cell-killing activities of the toxins in vitro and significantly improved survival in a stringent animal model of C. difficile infection. C. difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in the United States and represents a growing global public health challenge.

28 May 2010

Researchers examine association between use of antibiotics and outcomes among patients with COPD

Among patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, those who received antibiotics in the first 2 hospital days had improved outcomes, such as a lower likelihood of mechanical ventilation and fewer readmissions, compared to patients who received antibiotics later or not at all, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA.

26 May 2010

Dangerous bacterium appears in Australia for the first time

Clostridium difficile is a bacterium that has killed thousands abroad. Now is has been detected in three Australians for the first time. The bacterium was detected in three patients at Melbourne's Epworth Hospital.

25 May 2010

Drug trend for children increased 10.8% in 2009 across America

In growing numbers, children across America are adding a dose of medicine to their daily routine. In 2009, drug trend for children – a measure of prescription spending growth – increased 10.8 percent, driven by a 5 percent increase in drug utilization and higher medication costs, according to the Medco 2010 Drug Trend Report. The growth in prescription drug use among children was nearly four times higher than the rise seen in the overall population.

20 May 2010

Merck hosts R&D and Business Briefing

Merck & Co., Inc. today hosted its first R&D and Business Briefing since the completion of the Merck and Schering-Plough merger. The event included a comprehensive review of the company's late-stage pipeline, as well as the company's commercial strategy and progress made in the integration of Merck's worldwide operations.

12 May 2010

$Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women$

Proton pump inhibitor use associated with fracture risk in postmenopausal women

Proton pump inhibitors, medications that suppress acid in the stomach, appear to be associated with fractures in postmenopausal women and bacterial infections in many patients, and higher doses do not appear any more beneficial for treating bleeding ulcers, according to a series of reports in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

11 May 2010

BioSpecifics Technologies total revenues for first-quarter increase to $2.7M

BioSpecifics Technologies Corp., a biopharmaceutical company developing first in class collagenase-based products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010. The Company also highlighted key commercial and regulatory progress during the quarter, and provided its expected milestones for the remainder of 2010.

7 May 2010

MBPs offer no clinical benefit to patients undergoing PD: Research team

Mechanical bowel preparations are commonly administered preoperatively to patients who undergo a pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) to treat benign and malignant tumors of the pancreas, common bile duct or duodenum. MBPs are employed as a preventative measure in gastrointestinal surgery but their effectiveness in reducing perioperative infectious complications remains unclear.

7 May 2010

Second fidaxomicin Phase 3 clinical study data in patients with CDI to be presented at DDW 2010

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced the presentation of new data from its second fidaxomicin Phase 3 clinical study in patients with Clostridium difficile infection. The data, presented by Stuart Johnson, M.D. during an oral session at the annual meeting of Digestive Disease Week in New Orleans, indicated that treatment with fidaxomicin significantly improved the recurrence rate and global cure rate in CDI patients requiring concomitant antibiotics, compared to vancomycin.

5 May 2010

SQI Diagnostics signs development agreement with Silliker

SQI Diagnostics Inc., a medical systems automation company focused on evolving laboratory-based biomarker testing, today announced that it has entered into a development agreement with Silliker, Inc., a leading internationally accredited company dedicated to improving nutrition, food safety and quality, for the commercialization of a botulism toxin panel that will run on SQI's SQiDman analytical system.

26 Apr 2010

Data on ConvaTec's medical devices to be presented at SAWC/WHS 2010

ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, today announced that data related to several of its medical devices will be presented at the 23rd Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society in Orlando, Florida from April 17th to April 20th, 2010.

19 Apr 2010

Novel instrument may help limit spread of diarrhoea-causing bacteria

New strains of Clostridium difficile are making the diarrhoea-causing bacteria a global health problem. In hospitals especially, the bacteria can be extremely harmful. But a new instrument devised by Professor Chris Probert at The University of Bristol and Norman Ratcliffe from the University of the West of England (UWE) may help limit its spread.

16 Apr 2010

Automated UV radiation helps decontaminate healthcare-associated pathogens

Attendees of the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infection were offered a record 37 presentations on the critical role of contaminated environmental surfaces in the transmission of pathogens in healthcare settings.

12 Apr 2010

Optimer Pharmaceuticals announces results from second Phase 3 clinical study of fidaxomicin

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the top-line results from its second fidaxomicin Phase 3 clinical study in patients with Clostridium difficile infection were presented today at the 20th Annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Vienna, Austria.

12 Apr 2010

Superbugs on the decline in Scottish hospitals

The number of cases of hospital infections is on the decline in Scotland. Clostridium difficile, the hospital super bug which brings down a number of patients each year have halved in the last year. In the last 3 months of last year the patients over 65 years reported 672 cases of Clostridium difficile. This is a 48% decline from the 1,299 cases reported in the last three months of 2008.

9 Apr 2010

Cubist Pharmaceuticals initiates dosing in Phase 2 trial with CB-183,315 for diarrhea due to CDAD

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading acute care therapeutics company, today announced the enrollment and dosing of the first subject in its Phase 2 trial with CB-183,315, an antibacterial drug candidate intended to treat patients with a severe and sometimes life-threatening diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile known as C. difficile-associated diarrhea, or CDAD. The trial is expected to enroll more than 200 subjects at 28 sites in the United States and Canada.

8 Apr 2010

Cepheid to launch GeneXpert Infinity-48 in Europe at 20th ECCMID

Cepheid will initiate European launch of its newest addition to the GeneXpert® family of molecular diagnostic testing systems, the GeneXpert Infinity-48, at the 20th annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Vienna, Austria. The GeneXpert Infinity-48 System is the world's first and only fully-automated, random-access system designed for management of the entire molecular testing workflow — from sample data, cartridge loading and unloading, to final reporting of test results and disposal of cartridges.

7 Apr 2010

Optimer Pharmaceuticals to present data from fidaxomicin Phase 3 studies at 20th ECCMID

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that data from the fidaxomicin Phase 3 clinical studies will be presented at the 20th annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Vienna, Austria.