Penicillin News and Research

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Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from ''Penicillium'' fungi. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases such as syphilis and Staphylococcus infections.

Influenza virus can evolve resistance to experimental antiviral drug

The influenza virus can evolve resistance to an anti-flu drug currently in development for use in pandemics but only if there are multiple genetic mutations, a study has found.

25 Oct 2018

Mice study shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis

Biochemists, microbiologists, drug discovery experts and infectious disease doctors have teamed up in a new study that shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis in mice.

17 Oct 2018

ANTRUK’s Annual Lecture sends out message on shortage of funds for antibiotic research

A national charity will use the 90th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin to call for a massive injection of funds into antibiotic research - or risk returning humanity to an age where people died from something as simple as a scratch.

17 Oct 2018

Simple, inexpensive test quickly detects antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'

When you get sick, you want the right treatment fast. But certain infectious microbes are experts at evading the very anti-bacterial drugs designed to fight them.

16 Oct 2018

New search technique efficiently identifies antibiotic compounds

If you're looking for a needle in a haystack, it's best to know what hay looks like. An international team of researchers has applied this idea to the search for new pharmaceuticals, developing a technique that reduces the chances of simply rediscovering known compounds.

3 Oct 2018

New born syphilis on the rise sparking concerns

Congenital syphilis or new born syphilis occurs in the new born baby when the mother is affected with the syphilis bacteria during pregnancy or delivery and passes it on to her baby. A new report that was released this Tuesday (25th September 2018) by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that showed that in the US, the numbers of these new born syphilis cases have doubled since 2013.

26 Sep 2018

UTILITY receives FDA approval for Investigational New Drug applications

UTILITY therapeutics Ltd, a pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing antibiotics in the US, today announces that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the Investigational New Drug applications for mecillinam and pivmecillinam.

19 Sep 2018

New Euro-GASP program monitors continued effectiveness of treatment regimen for gonorrhea

Neisseria gonorrhoea continues to show high levels of resistance to azithromycin across the European Union and European Economic Area, according to the 2016 results of the European Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme.

31 Aug 2018

Finding the light in antimicrobials

Hundreds of polymers which kill drug-resistant superbugs in novel ways could be produced and tested using light, using this new method.

14 Aug 2018

Study provides clues to how cancer cells develop resistance to chemotherapies

About half of all drugs, ranging from morphine to penicillin, come from compounds that are from-;or have been derived from-;nature. This includes many cancer drugs, which are toxic enough to kill cancer cells.

22 Jun 2018

Coating medical devices with essential oils to prevent bacterial infections

James Cook University scientists have discovered a technique to apply natural plant extracts such as Tea Tree Oil as a coating for medical devices, a process which could prevent millions of infections every year.

7 Jun 2018

Drug-resistant staph infections found to be deadly, but less costly

Staph infections, whether MRSA (resistant to methicillin) or susceptible, are important and deadly. Drug-resistant staph infections continue to be deadlier than those that are not resistant and treatable with traditional antibiotics, but treatment costs surprisingly are the same or slightly less, a new national analysis shows.

15 May 2018

Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance Through Industry

Antimicrobial resistance is currently one of the biggest health threats in the world. Gary Cohen and Steve Conly discuss the role of Becton, Dickinson & Co and other organizations in the private sector in combating the spread of resistance.

11 May 2018

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria could help clear antibiotic contamination

Research has revealed how bacteria are able to obtain the nutrients they need to survive from antibiotics.

1 May 2018

Contact precautions do not limit spread of drug-resistant bacteria in ICUs

Contact precautions, used in addition to the standard precautions, the basic level of infection control applied to all patients, did not limit or prevent the spread of drug-resistant bacteria in non-intensive care unit hospital wards, according to research presented at the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

23 Apr 2018