Anti-Infective
| Boceprevir | ||
Section through a sinusoid in the liver, showing a sheet of hepatocytes lying parallel to the endothelial cell wall of the blood vessel, with a Kupffer cell and a stellate cell. Hepatitis viruses invade and replicate within hepatocytes. |
In its early stages, infection with HCV is often asymptomatic. When symptoms do occur they can include any of the above. |
The course of a typical hepatitis C infection. |
Schering-Plough's boceprevir is one of several HCV protease inhibitors currently in clinical development. |
Some of the proteins produced by translation of the HCV genome and cleavage of the resulting polyprotein are targets for new antivirals in development – in particular, the protease NS3 and the RNA polymerase NS5b. |
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| Capravirine - Anti-Retroviral Drug | ||
Since its discovery in the early 1980s, infection with HIV has reached epidemic proportions especially in developing countries. Estimates suggest that 42 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, of whom around 3 million die each year. (Source: ABPI) |
Classes of drugs used to treat HIV infection. |
Capravirine is an NNRTI indicated for the treatment of patients infected with HIV. |
| Ceftobiprole, | ||
Ceftobiprole medocaril (BAL5788) is an injectable anti-MRSA cephalosporin. |
S. aureus is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections. |
Basilea Pharmaceutica's drug development pipeline. |
Ceftobiprole medocaril (BAL5788) is the product of a joint development programme between Basilea Pharmaceutica AG and Cilag AG International (a Johnson & Johnson company). |
S. aureus can cause serious infections in hospitalised patients, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. |
Ceftobiprole has been approved for use in Canada and Ukraine under the name Zeftera. |
| Celvapan – H1N1 Pandemic Influenza Vaccine | ||
Baxter International is developing Celvapan as a vaccine against the H1N1 swine flu pandemic. |
Clinical trials are underway in 400 healthy adults aged 18+ and in 400 between six months and 17 years of age. |
The main side effect is pain at the site of injection, but this has been outweighed by the vaccine's efficacy. |
| Dalvabancin - Second-Generation Glycopeptide | ||
Antibiotics currently used in the treatment of infections due to MRSA. |
The evolution of new antibiotic classes from the 1930s to the present day. |
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem and contributes to increased rates of treatment failure and poor prognosis. |
Major classes of antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections. |
S. aureus is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections. |
Vicuron Pharmaceuticals' development pipeline. |
| Doripenem - A New Broad-Spectrum Carabapenem Antibiotic | ||
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics can have serious consequences. |
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| Fidaxomicin – Narrow-Spectrum Antibiotic for Clostridium Difficile Infection | ||
A microscopic view of Clostridium difficile, an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that causes severe, and sometimes deadly, intestinal problems. |
Chemical structure of fidaxomicin, a novel macrocyclic antimicrobial agent for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). |
Microscopy of Clostridium difficile, bacteria responsible for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). |
Proposed interaction site of fidaxomicin, indicated by an arrow, based on sequencing data of laboratory generated Clostridium difficile mutants. |
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| Fludase - Experimental Antiviral Drug for Influenza | ||
Diagram of the influenza virus. |
The influenza virus invades the cells of the respiratory epithelium. |
Six phases have been indicated in the World Health Organisation’s pandemic alert system for informing the world of the threat from a flu pandemic and when progressively more advanced activities to contain the threat are needed. Changes from one phase to another are governed by factors such as the epidemiological behaviour of the disease and characteristics of the virus in circulation. |
| INCB9471 – CCR5 Antagonist for Treatment of HIV Infection | ||
Structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is responsible for AIDS. |
Drugs in development for the treatment of HIV are targeted at different stages of the virus' lifecycle. |
The past 20 years have seen important advances in drug therapy for HIV-infected patients and accompanying improvement in morbidity and mortality rates. |
| Influenza A (H1N1) Monovalent Vaccine by Sanofi Pasteur | ||
Sanofi Pasteur's vaccine against Influenza (H1N1) was approved in September 2009 by the FDA. |
The vaccine has been proven to generate an immune response in a high percentage of adults in clinical trials and has been ordered by a number of governments. |
The Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine contains an inactivated influenza virus. |
| Maraviroc - Therapy for Treatment of HIV Infection | ||
Structure of the human immunodeficiency virus, which is responsible for AIDS. |
Pfizer's maraviroc is awaiting regulatory approval in the US. |
Drugs in development for the treatment of HIV are targeted at different stages of the virus' lifecycle. |
| Merck Isentress - Emerging Therapy for Treatment of HIV Infection, | ||
Structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is responsible for AIDS. |
Drugs in development for the treatment of HIV are targeted at different stages of the virus' lifecycle. |
The past 20 years have seen important advances in drug therapy for HIV-infected patients and accompanying improvement in morbidity and mortality rates. |
| Motavizumab - New Biological Therapy for RSV Prevention, | ||
MedImmune's motavizumab is a monoclonal antibody for prevention of RSV infection, a common respiratory tract infection in babies and infants. |
RSV is a negative-sense, enveloped RNA virus that infects the upper respiratory tract but in vulnerable patients may rapidly progress to viral pneumonia. |
Pre-term infants and those with chronic lung and congenital heart disease are at increased risk of developing severe RSV infections. |
MedImmune, wholly owned by AstraZeneca, has a growing pipeline of products in development for the prevention and treatment of RSV. |
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| Oritavancin - Glycopeptide Antibiotic | ||
Types of skin and soft tissue infections for which oritavancin is being evaluated in clinical trials. |
Antibiotic resistance among gram-positive pathogens is a growing problem and contributes to increased rates of treatment failure and poor prognosis. |
S aureus is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections, with infections due to MRSA particularly difficult to treat. |
Oritavancin has a number of properties that may confer benefits in the treatment of serious gram-positive infections if it receives regulatory approval. |
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| Pandemrix - Adjuvanted H1N1 Influenza Vaccine | ||
GSK's adjuvanted swine flu vaccine Pandemrix has been approved by the European Commission and is set to be supplied to governments as soon as possible. |
Pandemrix contains parts of the flu strain A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) v-like strain (X-179A) and GSK's proprietary adjuvant system AS03. |
Phase I trials of Pandemrix have been completed to allow the vaccine to be approved quickly, to prevent the further transmission of the H1N1 virus. |
| Panflu.1 – Single-Shot Vaccine Against H1N1 Influenza | ||
Colourised negative stained transmission electron micrograph that depicts some of the ultrastructural morphology of the A/CA/4/09 swine flu virus. |
Colourised transmission electron micrograph that reveals the presence of a number of novel H1N1 virus virions in this tissue sample. |
Panflu.1 is a single-shot vaccine to protect against the H1N1 virus. |
| Peramivir - Neuraminidase Inhibitor for Treatment of Influenza | ||
H1N1 influenza virus; Peramivir is being used as a treatment for this as well as H5N1 (bird flu) and seasonal influenza. |
Peramivir showed activity against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 swine flu outbreak and on its associated origin viral strains. |
The FDA granted EUA for the antiviral Peramivir in intravenous formulation for the 2009 H1N1 influenza. |
| Restanza | ||
Pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). CAP affects 5.6 million patients in the US each year. |
Restanza, Advanced Life Sciences' lead product candidate, is a novel once-a-day antibiotic that has demonstrated positive Phase III results for the treatment of CAP. |
Penicillin notatum; the source of penicillin. An increasing number of bacteria are becoming resistant to penicillin. |
| Rupintrivir - | ||
Virus capable of causing respiratory tract infection. |
Rhinovirus infection is the most common cause of colds, producing the classic symptoms of a runny nose, blocked sinuses, headache and cough. |
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| T-705 - Antiviral Drug for Influenza | ||
Diagram of the influenza virus. |
The influenza virus invades the cells of the respiratory epithelium. |
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| Tamiflu - Oral Anti-Viral Treatment Agent | ||
Tamiflu has been under development under its clinical name oseltamivir since 1996 and was launched by Roche in the US in 1999. |
The influenza virus can be prevented from spreading in the body by neuraminidase inhibitors such as Tamiflu. |
Roche is scaling up its production of Tamiflu to an annual capacity of 4 billion capsules in the wake of the swine flu crisis. |
Clinical trials are being continued to evaluate the efficacy of Tamiflu against the H1N1 virus. |
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| Telbivudine - Investigational Drug | ||
Formula of telbivudine, a new nucleotide analogue for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. |
Estimates from the World Health Organization suggest there are around 350 million people chronically infected with hepatitis B virus. |
Drugs currently used in the treatment of chronic HBV infection. |
Drugs for the treatment of chronic HBV should meet a number of ideal criteria, including rapid and profound viral suppression. |
Idenix Pharmaceuticals currently has two investigational drugs in development for chronic HBV infection: the nucleotide analogues telbivudine and valtorcitabine. |
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| Tygacil - Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic for Empiric | ||
Major classes of antibiotics used in the treatment of bacterial infections. |
Some new classes of antibiotics in development. |
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem and contributes to increased rates of treatment failure and poor prognosis. |
The misuse of antibiotics is a major contributor to growing rates of antibiotic resistance. |
There has been a ten-fold increase in rates of vancomycin resistance among gram-positive enterococci between 1990 and 1998. |
Mortality rates are twice as high among patients infected with pathogens resistant to antibiotic therapy compared with those that are susceptible. |
| Valtorcitabine - Combination Drug Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis B | ||
Current estimates suggest that 350-400 million people are infected with HBV. |
Cirrhosis of the liver is a common complication of HBV infection that can lead to hepatic insufficiency, portal hypertension and cancer of the liver. |
Telbivudine is the most recently approved drug for the treatment of chronic HBV infection. |
Therapeutic goals for chronic HBV infection include clearance of HBeAg and HBsAg together with seroconversion to anti-HBe and anti-HBs antibodies. |
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