{"id":16504,"date":"2014-01-13T14:38:28","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T19:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=16504"},"modified":"2014-01-13T14:40:41","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T19:40:41","slug":"clinical-trial-to-test-safety-of-mrsa-drug-candidate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=16504","title":{"rendered":"Clinical Trial to Test Safety of MRSA Drug Candidate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"MRSA<\/a>
Scanning electron micrograph image of MRSA bacteria (Janice Haney Carr, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Enanta Pharmaceuticals<\/a>, a biotechnology company in Watertown, Massachusetts, is starting an early-stage clinical trial of an antibiotic to treat methicillin-resistant\u00a0Staphylococcus aureus<\/i> or MRSA infections. The drug, code-named EDP-788, is being developed under a contract with National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

MRSA<\/a> is a bacteria resistant to many current antibiotics that cause skin infections, but can become life-threatening surgical site, blood stream, or pneumonia infections, especially in health care facilities. Health care-associated MRSA infections often occur with invasive procedures requiring intravenous tubing, surgeries, dialysis, or artificial joints.<\/p>\n

Pew Health Initiatives<\/a> says MRSA infections result in 368,000 hospitalizations leading to 19,000 deaths a year in the U.S., with annual costs estimated between $3.2 to $4.2 billion. Data from Centers for Disease Control and Preventions<\/a> indicate MRSA blood stream infections are declining, with the number of hospitalized patients dropping nearly 50 percent between 1997 and 2007.<\/p>\n

Enanta’s EDP-788<\/a> is from a new class of antibiotics known as bicyclolides, engineered compounds that the company says bind in a unique way to the genes of the target bacteria. This unique binding capability makes bicyclolides potential candidates to treat drug resistant bacteria, including MRSA and vancomycin resistant enterococci.<\/p>\n

In 2011, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Enanta a contract<\/a> to develop medical countermeasures to drug-resistant bacteria, with $23.5 million<\/a> awarded to the company by September 2013 for preclinical studies and early-stage clinical trials. If all options are exercised by the agency, the contract could pay Enanta as much as $42.7 million.<\/p>\n

In a September 2013 company statement, Enanta CEO Jay Luly said bicyclolides show promising activity in lab tests against isolates resistant to vancomycin, linezolid, and daptomycin, three leading therapies against drug-resistant bacteria.<\/p>\n

EDP-788 is being configured as a precursor agent that remains inactive until converted by the body into an active compound. In the clinical trial, an oral form of the drug will be tested against a placebo for safety and chemical activity in the body with 64 healthy volunteers. The company says an intravenous form of the drug is also being developed.<\/p>\n

Drug-resistant bacteria are a newer product line for Enanta. The company’s lead compounds<\/a> are designed to inhibit genetic replication of hepatitis C viruses.<\/p>\n

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