Antibiotic News and Research

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

Scientists create nanoscale coating to eradicate methicillin resistant bacteria

Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections.

17 Aug 2010

Pernix Therapeutics reports decrease in net sales for 2010 second quarter

Pernix Therapeutics Holdings, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company primarily focused on the pediatric market, today announced results for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

17 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Health Affairs: Medicare Doesn't Work As Well For Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does For Older Enrollees - This paper examines "how well Medicare works for [the 8 million] nonelderly disabled beneficiaries compared to the elderly, based on findings from a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries conducted in 2008 by the Kaiser Family Foundation."

16 Aug 2010

NovaBay second-quarter net loss increases to $1.2 million

NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class, anti-infective compounds for the treatment and prevention of antibiotic-resistant infections, today reported second quarter financial results and highlighted the clinical progress of its in-house programs.

13 Aug 2010

Severe inflammatory response to initial UTI causes bladder damage: Research

The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.Researchers showed in mice that severe inflammatory responses to an initial UTI cause bladder damage and allow infection to persist longer. After one to two weeks of infection, the bladder wall undergoes additional changes that leave mice more vulnerable to later infection. Suppressing the immune system during initial infection decreases these vulnerabilities, they report Aug. 12 in PLoS Pathogens.

13 Aug 2010

LevPharm to distribute Innovotech's bioFILM PA- test in Israel

Innovotech Inc., a pioneer in the field of biofilm product development, has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with LevPharm Ltd of Israel to market and distribute its bioFILM PA- test to hospitals and clinics within Israel.

13 Aug 2010

Superbug purportedly from Asia on the rise in UK & Australia

British scientists have claimed that a new gene called New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM-1 has emerged that makes the bacteria resistant to almost all antibiotics. India has rejected the claim that it is the source of this superbug. Cases have been detected in the UK and Australia and are on the rise in the UK.

12 Aug 2010

Aradigm reports net loss of $4.1M for second-quarter 2010

Aradigm Corporation today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

AdvanDx announces European launch of CE-IVD marked GNR Traffic Light PNA FISH test

AdvanDx today announced the launch of its CE-IVD marked GNR Traffic Light™ PNA FISH® test in Europe. GNR Traffic Light PNA FISH is the first-ever test capable of simultaneously identifying Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa directly from positive blood cultures in less than 90 minutes.

12 Aug 2010

Needle-free natural vaccine against malaria: Research

A study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine proposes that preventative treatment with affordable and safe antibiotics in people living in areas with intense malaria transmission has the potential to act as a 'needle-free' natural vaccine against malaria and may likely provide an additional valuable tool for controlling and/or eliminating malaria in resource-poor settings.

12 Aug 2010

Advanced Life Sciences second-quarter net loss decreases to $2.1 million

11 Aug 2010

PolyMedix's PMX-60056 Phase 1B/2 dose-ranging clinical study for heparin reversal meets study endpoints

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat acute cardiovascular disorders and infectious diseases, has successfully completed a Phase 1B/2 dose-ranging clinical study with PMX-60056, a synthetic small-molecule designed to reverse heparin and low molecular weight heparin anticoagulants.

11 Aug 2010

Advanced Life Sciences reaches SPA agreement with FDA for Restanza Phase 3 study

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, announced today that it has reached agreement with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) process, on the design of its planned Phase 3 study of its novel once-daily oral antibiotic Restanza to treat community acquired bacterial pneumonia (CABP). The trial is the first prospectively designed superiority study to be conducted in CABP.

11 Aug 2010

Education, changes in reimbursement practices can reduce inappropriate antibiotic usage: Study

Improved drug coverage under Medicare Part D has led to an increase in the use of antibiotics by seniors, particularly of brand-name and more expensive drugs, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Published in the Aug. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine and the first to explore spending on antibiotics under Medicare Part D, the study suggests recent changes in drug coverage improved the use of antibiotics for pneumonia, but could lead to unnecessary spending on expensive broad-spectrum antibiotics and the overuse of inappropriate antibiotics.

11 Aug 2010

Study suggests zinc supplementation may reduce pneumonia risk

A high proportion of nursing facility residents were found to have low serum (blood) zinc concentrations during an observational study funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the National Institute of Aging. The scientists found that those with normal blood zinc concentrations were about 50 percent less likely to develop pneumonia than those with low concentrations.

11 Aug 2010

China Pharma second-quarter revenue increases 22% to $16.6 million

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., a leading fully-integrated specialty pharmaceuticals company in China, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

10 Aug 2010

Study suggests reimbursements can address inappropriate antibiotic usage

Antibiotic use appears to have increased among older adults whose prescription drug coverage improved as a result of enrolling in Medicare Part D, with the largest increases for broad-spectrum, newer and more expensive drugs, according to a report in the August 9/23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

10 Aug 2010

FDA accepts Salix's XIFAXAN550 sNDA for Priority Review

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for Priority Review the Company's efficacy supplement to the New Drug Application (NDA) for XIFAXAN® (rifaximin) 550 mg tablets for the proposed indication of treatment of non-constipation irritable bowel syndrome (Non-C IBS) and IBS-related bloating.

9 Aug 2010

Renhuang Pharmaceuticals announces resignation of chief financial officer

Renhuang Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a developer, manufacturer and distributor of botanical products, bio-pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicines ("TCM"), today announced that on August 3, 2010, Ms. Yan Yi Chen, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, resigned for personal reasons effective immediately.

8 Aug 2010

45-year-old Hummelstown patient takes on FDA over Johnson & Johnson’s antibiotic Levaquin

Suffering from injuries to his brain, nerves, and tendons for over four years, 45-year-old John Fratti of Hummelstown, PA, has taken on the Food and Drug Administration with good results. Since taking Johnson & Johnson’s antibiotic Levaquin for an infection he has had many diagnostic studies on his brain and body that show considerable damage. Healthy and athletic at 41 years of age, he now takes multiple prescription pain medications for his injuries.

7 Aug 2010