New Direction For Drugmakers Such As Merck & Co., Inc., Sanofi (France): Seeking Cure For Deadly Bowel Infection

Drugmakers led by Merck & Co. and Sanofi are searching for new weapons against a deadly bacteria behind hospital and nursing-home infections. Merck, Sanofi, Actelion Ltd. (ATLN) and Shire Plc (SHP) are among the companies vying to develop products to control or prevent Clostridium difficile, the bacteria most often implicated in infections found in medical facilities. The bug, linked to pain, fever, nausea and diarrhea, can add from $10,000 to $13,000 to a patient’s costs, according to a 2007 study.

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