Articles about new MRSA drugs, treatment methods, research etc

Super Antibiotic For Hospital Superbug MRSA

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18 May 2006

Merck scientists have discovered an antibiotic that is effective in destroying MRSA, otherwise known as the hospital superbug. This antibiotic, unlike others, blocks the enzymes that produce fatty acids - essential for the construction of the membranes of bacteria. The compound binds to FabF.

If the drug successfully passes clinical trials, it will be only the third new antibiotic type in the last four decades. Most modern antibiotics still work on variations of compounds discovered in the late 1940s to 1950s. Current antibiotics either inhibit a bacterium's ability to build a membrane or prevent it from creating proteins or DNA.

This fact, that most antibiotics are basically quite similar, may be one of the main reasons for the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is also the result of overuse of antibiotics.

Any completely new type of antibiotic is viewed with enthusiasm by doctors because it may smash resistance on the head and give us a headstart of many decades.

The researchers were looking through more than one quarter of a million natural products when they came across ?platensimycin' found in a soil sample from South Africa. Platensimycin is produced by Streptomyces platensis, an actinomycete bacteria. Platensimycin was found to be a powerful inhibitor of many Gram-positive bacteria, including many Staphylococcus strains.

Initially, researchers found that platensimycin eliminated S. aureus bacteria, related to MRSA, from infected mice. According to their preliminary investigations, there were no toxic side-effects. After further tests, they found platensimycin to be very effective against MRSA and many other types of bacteria.

This could be welcome news for doctors who are concerned at the rising numbers MRSA infection cases in hospitals throughout most of the world. The majority of pharmaceutical companies have moved away from antibiotic research. Over the last ten years the number of new antibiotics coming onto the market has gone down, while the number of MRSA cases has been steadily rising. MRSA is resistant to most antibiotics.

The scientists said that this potential breakthrough is in its birth and we could be looking at several years before a new, effective and safe product is on the market.

http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43612∞

MRSA Breakthrough - Coventry University Tenant Company's Potent Paper Towel Could Beat Bug, UK

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02 Aug 2006

simple paper towel could step up the fight against MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections. The towel's surface-sterilising coating - stored in micro-capsules - prevents the growth of MRSA and, in some cases, kills the bug outright. Invented by Zone Innovation at Coventry University's Technology Park, the towel has already sparked interest among three NHS Trusts.

The paper towel would drastically improve hand hygiene in hospitals, Zone Innovation director Ken Banks said. ?Standard paper towels are a breeding ground for bugs - they are still wet when you throw them away and the warm, moist environment causes these germs to spread,? he said. ?When you dry your hands using our towel, the anti-microbial coating effectively destroys the MRSA bacteria.?

The company is also working on an aerosol that could kill germs. ?It's a similar principle to the paper towel - the micro-capsules which contain the sterilising solution don't break until they are touched,? Mr Banks said. ?As with the towel, a perfume is freed on contact, and the spray does the rest. It is stronger and longer-lasting than existing aerosols.?

Mr Banks signed up to Coventry University's business start-up programme Vision Works to help his company's research and development phase. ?Probably the biggest plus from Vision Works has been having my own business mentor to bounce ideas off,? he said. ?Without the University's support, and the flexibility that it's given me to try out different things, we wouldn't be where we are now.?

Zone Innovation has also linked up with the University of Wolverhampton, University of Manchester and Warwick Science Park companies Healthtec and Medilink in the trialling and testing of their products. Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands has supported the development.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=48515∞

Basilea Announces Positive Top-line Results On Second Pivotal Phase III Ceftobiprole Trial

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11 Jan 2007

Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SWX: BSLN) announced today that the second pivotal ceftobiprole phase III study in complicated skin infections met its primary endpoint of statistical non-inferiority versus combination therapy. Ceftobiprole demonstrated high cure rates in patients with complicated Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative skin infections, including diabetic patients with foot infections. A first regulatory submission is planned this year. Ceftobiprole is an anti-MRSA, broad-spectrum cephalosporin developed in collaboration with Cilag GmbH International, a Johnson & Johnson company.

"Complicated skin infections require rapid medical intervention, typically before the causative pathogens are identified. The potent anti-MRSA activity of ceftobiprole, combined with its broad-spectrum activity, provided broad coverage of the clinically relevant pathogens in this important clinical setting. In particular, ceftobiprole, as a single agent, was clearly as effective as a combination regimen of standard broad-spectrum therapy in patients with difficult-to-treat diabetic foot infections," commented Dr. Rienk Pypstra, Chief Development Officer of Basilea.

This second pivotal double-blind study (STRAUSS II - study of resistant Staphylococcus aureus in complicated skin and skin structure infections) treated 828 patients with either ceftobiprole or the combination of ceftazidime plus vancomycin in a 2:1 randomization. Almost one third of patients had diabetic foot infections of which three quarters were moderate to severe cases.

Ninety-one percent of clinically evaluable patients were cured with ceftobiprole compared to 90% of patients treated with combination therapy. The clinical response in patients with diabetic foot infections was 86% for ceftobiprole and 82% for comparator combination therapy, respectively. Over twenty percent of microbiologically evaluable patients had confirmed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The clinical cure rate for ceftobiprole in MRSA patients was 91% compared to 86% for the comparator regimen. One third of patients had infections involving a Gram-negative pathogen. The microbiologic eradication rates in these patients were similar at 84% in both treatment groups. Ceftobiprole was well tolerated. Adverse events were comparable between the two treatment groups.

"These are very strong clinical data. These results show that ceftobiprole monotherapy is non-inferior to standard combination therapy. Ceftobiprole has FDA fast track designation. With two positive phase III trials in complicated skin infections, we plan the first regulatory filing for ceftobiprole this year. We have reached another major milestone on the route to commercialization of ceftobiprole with our partner Cilag GmbH International. We are now closer to providing physicians with a new therapeutic option to treat patients with complicated bacterial skin infections," said Dr. Anthony Man, Basilea's CEO.

Products About Complicated Skin Infections

Complicated skin and skin structure infections (cSSSIs) are among the most common infections in the hospital setting. Staphylococcus aureus is the predominant pathogen in skin infections. In recent years resistant strains (MRSA) have become increasingly common and have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality.

Patients with chronic wounds or those who have recently received antibiotics, may also be infected by Gram-negative pathogens. This is frequently the case for diabetic patients with foot infections. Adequate treatment of diabetic foot infections requires hospitalization, surgery and broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics.
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=60549∞

Better Risk Management Could Cut MRSA Infection Rates

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01 May 2007

The larger - and busier - an NHS hospital is, the higher the MRSA infection rate, research from the Nottingham University Business School has revealed.

The impact of risk management standards on the frequency of MRSA infections in NHS hospitals study looked at how demanding risk management standards imposed by hospital insurers - and the premium discounts offered if these rigorous standards are met - could reduce MRSA infection rates.

Institutions with the highest number of 'bed days' for riskier treatments, particularly surgery and gynaecology, have an increased likelihood of infection. But financial incentives could play a role in controlling MRSA infection rates, potentially slashing the incidence of infection by between 11 and 20 per cent, the study shows.

MRSA infection costs the NHS ?1bn a year in terms of prevention, compensation payments and additional treatment. Deaths involving MRSA rose from 51 in 1993 to 1,629 in 2005.

All NHS hospitals carry insurance to cover them against claims for illness and injuries caused by medical treatment. As with other insurance settings, the cover it provides reduces the need to try to minimise exposure to claims, because the insurer, not the hospital, will be paying the claim. In the NHS, the insurer, the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), overcomes this problem by outlining strict risk management standards. The standards are increasingly demanding and - if they can demonstrate compliance with them - hospitals are granted increasing discounts on the premiums they pay the NHSLA for their cover. If the financial incentives implicit in these arrangements are effective, hospitals attaining higher risk management levels could face lower MRSA infection rates

The study, led by Paul Fenn, Norwich Union Professor of Insurance Studies in the Nottingham University Business School, involved Professor Alastair Gray from the University of Oxford and Professor Neil Rickman from the University of Surrey. The team looked at data from all NHS hospitals in the UK between 2001 and 2005, including MRSA infection rates, hospital size and mix of cases, bed utilisation rates and risk management levels. They found that the introduction of higher risk management standards, including hand hygiene and infection control measures, reduced the incidence of infection in hospitals by between 11 and 20 per cent after allowing for all other variations in infection rates.

Larger hospitals were found to have higher infection rates, particularly those with higher proportions of patients undergoing surgical or gynaecological treatment. And the "busier" the hospital - the closer it is to full capacity - the higher the incidence of MRSA infection.

Professor Fenn said: "Our research has demonstrated that hospital management has responded to financial incentives by adopting higher risk management standards, and where this happens, patient safety tends to improve."
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=69168∞

Students' Product Could Reduce Spread Of Infections Like MRSA

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15 May 2007

A product designed by two entrepreneurial medical graduates could soon be helping to reduce the spread of hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA.

The pair have designed a disposable tourniquet which they believe will pose no infection risk and which they hope will provide a cheap, comfortable alternative to the tourniquets currently in use. They estimate that it will cost the same to manufacture as a rubber glove, which is frequently used as a make-shift tourniquet. They developed the product whilst studying at Imperial College London.

Tourniquets are essential in helping medical staff find a vein when they are taking blood samples or inserting a drip. They are wrapped around limbs and tightened, restricting blood flow so that the veins swell and become more visible.

The designers of the new product suggest that most of the tourniquets currently in use pose an infection risk because they are reusable and could therefore carry infective organisms from patient to patient. Disposable alternatives do exist but the pair believes these are largely expensive and lack ease of use. For expediency, many medical professionals currently use a rubber glove, but these are often uncomfortable and can cause problems such as latex allergies or trauma to the skin. Around 40 million procedures using a tourniquet are performed each year in the NHS alone.

The tourniquet invented by the Imperial students, which is named Tournistrip (TM), is a long band made of a form of plasticized paper with similar dimensions to a watch strap. It is fastened using a quick seal, quick release sticking mechanism and its origins are based on wrist bands used for security at large events such as concerts. This means that the team has been able to use existing production techniques for such bands to keep costs low.

Ryan Kerstein, one of the inventors of the device, who qualified as a doctor from Imperial College in 2006 said: "Throughout our training there was always a lot of emphasis on infection control and good clinical technique. Watching some of our colleagues in the hospital environment it struck us that even though their technique was stringent they were limited by the re-usable equipment available."

Ryan's co-inventor Christian Fellowes, also a recently qualified doctor from Imperial, added: "We came up with the idea when on the wards, as medical students, we saw tourniquets being transferred from patient to patient, which we felt was unacceptable. The only available alternative was a rubber glove, which seemed unprofessional and uncomfortable. Looking into the problem, we realised there were no financially viable alternatives that had the benefits of re-usable tourniquets, without the drawbacks of the available disposable ones. We developed a product that is easy and comfortable for patients, as it does not pinch, is easy to fasten and release, and is cheap and brandable."

The graduates developed their idea after carrying out a small study on the infective organisms present in reusable tourniquets, with the help of Dr Berge Azadian from Imperial's Division of Investigative Sciences. In an examination of 52 reusable tourniquets, they found that 30 grew methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and three grew methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The students were finalists in the Imperial Business Plan Competition in 2005 and won the Imperial College Innovation Competition in 2004.

The team have a patent pending on their design and prototypes of the tourniquet have been successfully tested in various London teaching hospitals. Imperial Innovations, the technology commercialisation company based at Imperial College London, is assisting the team in bringing their product to market. The most likely route for this is by a licence with a manufacturer of hospital supplies.

IMPERIAL COLLEGE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
Exhibition Road
London
SW7 2AZ
http://www.ic.ac.uk∞
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=70881∞

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