New Biotech Antibiotic Kills Bacteria Directly
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Clinical trial data for PMX-30063, a defensin-mimetic antibiotic compound developed by PolyMedix, Inc. was presented at the 8th World Congress on Trauma, Shock, Inflammation and Sepsis (TSIS) in Munich, Germany.
A common problem with antibiotics is that bacteria develop resistance to the drug over a period of time. PMX-30063 has characteristics that prevent such resistance being developed, according to the presentation.
The data showed that the drug kills Staph bacteria in human serum blood samples at specific therapeutic dose levels. Phase 1B dose-escalation clinical study had demonstrated that the administration of multiple doses of PMX-30063 is safe and well-tolerated.
PMX-30063 is a small molecule mimetic of human host-defense proteins, which are highly effective antimicrobial defense systems found in virtually all living creatures. The drug disrupts bacterial membrane directly thus making development of bacterial drug resistance unlikely.
Unlike other antibiotics that act by stopping bacterial reprodcution, PMX-30063 kills bacteria directly, and is fast acting. The drug is said to be the first antibiotic with this mechanism of action.
Read the news release at Market Watch.
Tags: antibiotic, biotech drug, drug resistance
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology | No Comments »
Leukemia Vaccine to Kill Remaining Cancer Cells
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Leukemia patients taking the drug Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) still had cancer cells present after one year. Human clinical studies of GVAX Leukemia vaccine developed by BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. showed that it was possible to reduce or eliminate the last remaining cancer cells in some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients taking Gleevec.
Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center investigators used a vaccine made from CML cells. The cancerous potential of the CML cells was halted by irradiating them. The cells were also genetically altered to produce an immune system stimulator called GM-CSF.
The treated cells also carried antigen molecules specific to CML cells that prime the immune system to recognize and kill circulating CML cells.
Cancer vaccines may be a good way to mop up the residual disease according to Dr Levitsky, Professor of oncology, medicine and urology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Read the news at BioMed Reports.
Tags: cancer cells, chronic myeloid leukemia, vaccine
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, diseases, genetic modification | No Comments »
