New Drug Targets C. diff Infection
First in New Class of Antibiotics Being Tested Against Diarrhea Bug
That’s where NVB302, which is given in tablet form, comes in. In test tube studies, "it targeted C. diff very selectively, allowing normal gut [bacteria] to recover," Wadman says.
In the animal studies, the researchers infected hamsters with C. diff. They also gave them the antibiotic clindamycin, which disturbed the normal gut flora and allowed C. diff to grow.
If the animals aren’t treated further, they will die within 72 hours, Dawson says. But they lived much longer when given NVB302, he says.
The research was presented at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Now the company is conducting safety studies in healthy animals, a step required by the FDA before human testing can proceed.
One of the big advantages of the new drug is that the studies showed it is not significantly absorbed into the bloodstream after being given orally, says Karen Bush, PhD, an expert specializing in the development of new products for infectious diseases at Indiana University, Bloomington.
“This means it’s less likely to affect the normal [healthy] bacteria [than other antibiotics],” she tells WebMD. Bush was not involved with the work.
New Drug Targets C. diff Infection
First in New Class of Antibiotics Being Tested Against Diarrhea Bug
C. Diff: The New Drug continued...
That’s where NVB302, which is given in tablet form, comes in. In test tube studies, "it targeted C. diff very selectively, allowing normal gut [bacteria] to recover," Wadman says.
In the animal studies, the researchers infected hamsters with C. diff. They also gave them the antibiotic clindamycin, which disturbed the normal gut flora and allowed C. diff to grow.
If the animals aren’t treated further, they will die within 72 hours, Dawson says. But they lived much longer when given NVB302, he says.
The research was presented at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
C. Diff: Expert Comments
Now the company is conducting safety studies in healthy animals, a step required by the FDA before human testing can proceed.
One of the big advantages of the new drug is that the studies showed it is not significantly absorbed into the bloodstream after being given orally, says Karen Bush, PhD, an expert specializing in the development of new products for infectious diseases at Indiana University, Bloomington.
“This means it’s less likely to affect the normal [healthy] bacteria [than other antibiotics],” she tells WebMD. Bush was not involved with the work.
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