teaser
Enanta Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the development of small molecule anti-infective drugs, today announced the presentation of their breakthrough research program to evaluate a new macrolide-related drug class, Bicyclolides, in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and other gram-positive infection pathogens. Enanta’s Bicyclolides have also demonstrated strong activity against MRSA strains resistant to vancomycin, Zyvox (linezolid), and Cubicin (daptomycin).
The oral presentation, “New Bicyclolides active against MRSA and VRE,” was presented today during the 10th Annual Superbugs and Superdrugs Conference in London, England.
“Previously, MRSA infection was a problem mainly for patients treated in hospitals,” said Robert Moellering, MD, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “Now we’re seeing MRSA in the general community, creating a tremendous need for a new class of antibiotics with improved safety profile and more convenient administration for use within both hospital as well as community settings. The growing problem of bacterial resistance to many existing drugs also necessitates the development of new classes of compounds to fight the battle.”
“Pre-clinical research on these new Bicyclolide compounds revealed activity against MRSA and VRE, even against highly drug-resistant MRSA strains. This was an unexpected finding, because traditional macrolides do not work against these bacteria,” explained Yat Sun Or, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Enanta. “These results are also very exciting, because we have observed activity as good as intravenously-administered vancomycin or Zyvox with oral once-a-day dosing levels of the Bicyclolides. The convenience of oral administration and the safety profile of macrolides as a class represent patient and pharmacoeconomic benefits that could be potentially quite significant, making this program a worthwhile endeavor.”
