Anti-Infectives Week articles from February 2003

Anti-Infectives Week archives from February 2003

FDA panel recommends approval of Ketek for respiratory tract infections.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis announced that the Anti-Infective Drugs Advisory Committee (AIDAC) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted to recommend approval of Ketek (telithromycin) tablets (800 mg oral dose...

Neutral, negatively charged membranes integrity perturbation caused by peptide.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from Italy, "the temporins are a family of small, linear antibiotic peptides with intriguing biological properties." Scientists "investigated the antibacterial, haemolytic and...

Phase II study of amikacin will soon start in patients on mechanical ventilators.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Speaking at the JPMorgan H&Q Health Care Conference in San Francisco, Aerogen, Inc., (AEGN) announced that it has completed plans for and will soon initiate a phase II clinical trial in France to...

Former WebMD executive producer joins NewsRx.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A former WebMD executive producer and medical editor has joined Atlanta-based NewsRx, along with three board-certified editors. Dominique Walton Brooks, MD, with WebMD until 2001, will serve as...

SNDA submitted to FDA for Levaquin 5-day treatment of CAP.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., announced it is seeking marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a 5-day, once-daily regimen for Levaquin (levofloxacin)...

Food and animal safety company reports 22% increase in earnings.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Neogen Corp. (NEOG) announced that net income for the second quarter of its 2003 fiscal year, which ended November 30, was 22% higher than the previous year's second quarter. This also marks the...

Inhibitex initiates phase II trial for Veronate.
February 3, 2003... 2003 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Inhibitex, Inc., announced the initiation of a phase II clinical study of Veronate. Veronate, the company's lead product, is being developed for the prevention of staphylococcal infections in...

Antisera developed against the P. aeruginosa proteins responsible.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The third genes, opmE, opmD and opmB, of multidrug efflux operons deduced from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 genome data were cloned by polymerase chain reaction. The opmB gene product showed...

Taiwan study looks at long-term effects of hepatitis B vaccine.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers in Taiwan have investigated the long-term effects of hepatitis B vaccine and booster shots among adolescents. "The long-term immunogenicity of universal hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine...

Low interleukin-4 levels predict failure of antibiotics for H. pylori.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - Patients with an impaired mucosal immune response fail treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection significantly more often than similar patients...

Subclinical Japanese encephalitis infection high in vaccinated populations.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from Japan, "Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is characterized as a virus that produces a large number of subclinical infections. In this report, we estimated a ratio of...

Study: Quigley's new natural product reduces influenza impact.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Quigley Corp. (QGLY) announced that a patent application previously assigned to The Quigley Corp. for an all-natural compound was found effective in reducing the impact of influenza. Quigley...

Vaccine composed of FML antigen and saponin protects against leishmaniasis.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "The FML antigen of Leishmania donovani, in combination with either Riedel de Haen, QuilA, QS21 saponins, IL12 or BCG, was used in vaccination of an outbred murine model against visceral leishmaniasis...

Required elements for Blastomyces dermatitidis vaccine investigated.
February 10, 2003... 2003 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Understanding fundamental mechanisms of vaccine immunity will allow proper use and optimization of vaccines. Vaccination with a genetically engineered, live, attenuated strain of Blastomyces...

Cidofovir fails to treat Kaposi sarcoma in a pilot study.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "a clinical trial was conducted to test the activity of cidofovir (CDV), a drug with in vitro activity against Kaposi sarcoma (KS) associated herpesvirus...

Drotrecogin alfa (activated) is a cost-effective treatment.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for the treatment of severe sepsis, drotrecogin alfa (activated) (Xigris), is a cost-effective treatment and has a cost-benefit ratio...

Fluconazole superior to nystatin for neonatal candidiasis.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fluconazole should be used to treat oral Candida infections in newborn children, researchers in the United States argue. "Oral thrush is a common condition in young infants. Nystatin treatment is...

Novel agent disrupts staphylococcal drug efflux pumps.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel compound could be the basis for the next generation of anti-staphylococcal agents, according to a recent study from the University of London. "GG918, a synthetic inhibitor of...

First FDA approval granted for betamethasone dipropionate cream.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Specialty pharmaceutical manufacturer Fougera, a division of Altana, Inc., announced that it received first tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Betamethasone...

Global advertising agency named for diabetes treatment Lantus.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis has awarded Euro RSCG Worldwide the global advertising account for the diabetes treatment Lantus, according to the agency. The assignment includes advertising and interactive and medical...

Many cationic polypeptides in human airway fluid are found to be active.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "In a search for direct evidence leading to the biological relevance of airway secretions in innate host defense, we characterized the antibacterial function of cationic polypeptides within minimally...

ALF commends CDC for recommendations addressing viral hepatitis.
February 17, 2003... 2003 FEB 17 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The American Liver Foundation (ALF) applauds the new recommendations issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent the spread of viral hepatitis in the nation's...

New cyclic glycopeptide antibiotics studied.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Microbiologists with Wyeth Ayerst Research have described their study of the activities of mannopeptimycins, cyclic glycopeptide antibiotics produced by Streptomyces hygroscopicus LL-AC98. Five...

Antibiotic treatment strategies and drug targets get another look.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers evaluating antibiotic treatments for cystic fibrosis think new drugs are needed to address anaerobic metabolism by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. "Recent evidence indicates that Pseudomonas...

FDA publishes final rule to require labeling.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that a final rule outlining new labeling regulations designed to help reduce the development of drug-resistant bacterial strains is published...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa tolerance in biofilms to antibiotics studied.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oxygen limitation and low metabolic activity in the interior of a biofilm have been identified as factors promoting the tolerance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm systems to antibiotics. M.C....

HSV-1 caps viral protein and increases cellular spread in response to IgG.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "Binding of anti-herpes simplex virus (HSV) immunoglobulin G (IgG) to HSV type 1 infected HEL and HEp-2 cells causes changes in surface viral glycoprotein...

SBIR contract granted to continue development of system for DOD.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- 3rd Millennium announced that is has received a $730,000 phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). The contract is to develop a next generation microarray information...

Drug discovery alliance to develop broad spectrum anti-infectives.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genome Therapeutics (GENE) and MerLion Pharmaceuticals have launched a drug discovery program aimed at identifying natural products with potential utility as anti-infective drugs. The...

The antioxidant garcinol or L. acidophilus prove potent bactericidals.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to a study from the United States, "Chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori causes peptic ulcers, gastric cancer, and lymphoma. We evaluated the inhibitory effects of the probiotic...

Initial Multiferon shipment dispatched to Taiwan.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viragen, Inc., (VRA) and its majority owned subsidiary, Viragen International, Inc., (VGNI) announced that an initial shipment of its natural human alpha interferon, Multiferon, has been delivered to...

Preclinical data show short CpG DNA immunomers elicit potent effect.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hybridon, Inc., (HYBN.OB) announced the publication of data showing that short CpG DNA immunomers containing two sequences, each with as few as five or six nucleotides joined via 3'-3' linkers,...

FDA gives CRL for FluMist, an intranasal flu vaccine.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- MedImmune, Inc., (MEDI) announced that it has received a complete response letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Biologics License Application (BLA) for FluMist...

Antibiotic-loaded cement reduces infection risk in diabetics having knee replacement.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Caroline Helwick, NewsRx correspondent - In persons with diabetes, the risk of infection after total knee arthroplasty can be minimized with antibiotic-loaded bone cement, but aseptic loosening...

MVI gets new leadership.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) announced the appointments of Drs. Melinda Moree and Filip Dubovsky as director and scientific director, respectively, of the Malaria Vaccine...

R&D agreement with U.S. Navy signed for vaccine development.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (BISP) announced that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Navy's Naval Medical Research Center's (NMRC) Malaria Program...

Action demanded on world's oldest killer.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intensive Care Professionals from the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) annual meeting called for action to reduce the number of deaths from one of the world's oldest and most virulent killers -...

Catheter for early assessment of sepsis launched.
February 24, 2003... 2003 FEB 24 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (EW) announced that it is launching the PreSep Central Venous Oximetry Catheter (PreSep catheter) for sale in the United States. The announcement, made at the 32nd...