LEXINGTON, Mass., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- ActivBiotics, Inc.'s lead product candidate, rifalazil, and pipeline of novel rifamycin compounds were the subject of eleven presentations at the 45th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC). The conference was held in Washington, D.C. on December 16-19, 2005. ICAAC is a major international scientific conference and is sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology. More than 12,000 physicians, researchers and other healthcare professionals participated in the conference in an effort to foster worldwide solutions to the problem of infectious diseases.
Steve Gilman, Ph.D., ActivBiotics' President and CEO, presented an update on the scientific progress and development strategy for the Company's novel rifamycins in an invitation-only poster summary session entitled "All New Antimicrobial Agents." Dr. Gilman summarized the spectrum and potency of the Company's lead preclinical drug candidate, ABI-0043, against medically important pathogens including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Dr. Gilman also discussed the Company's scientific and strategic rationale to investigate the use of rifalazil as a potent anti-chlamydial agent for the treatment of intermittent claudication in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD).
ActivBiotics' posters provided detailed descriptions of experiments undertaken with its novel rifamycins. Also presented was data showing rifalazil's potent activity against the persistent form of Chlamydia, a stage in the pathogen's life cycle that may be important in mediating the vascular inflammation that occurs in atherosclerosis. The presented data demonstrated the broad in vitro potency and in vivo efficacy of ABI-0043, a preclinical stage compound, and the efficacy of this compound in combination with a quinolone antibiotic. The animal model utilized has proven to be very predictive of efficacy in humans for the treatment of foreign body infections.
ActivBiotics' posters included:
LB-6: Trampuz A, et al., Efficacy of Novel Rifamycin ABI-0043 against Staphylococcus aureus in a Foreign-Body Infection Model
E-1437: Suchland RJ, et al., Rifalazil and Azithromycin Have Activity against Persistent Chlamydia in Cell Culture
E-1439: Gerding DN, et al., In Vitro Activity of Ramoplanin, Rifalazil, Rifaximin, Metronidazole, and Vancomycin against 110 Unique Toxigenic Clostridium difficile Clinical Isolates
F-2043: Flamm RK, et al., In Vitro Potency and Spectrum of Novel Rifamycins ABI-0043, ABI-0094 and ABI-0299
F-2044: Lee SY, et al., Bactericidal Efficacy of ABI-0043, a Novel Rifamycin, in a Murine Pneumococcal Pneumonia Model
F-2045: Rothstein DM, et al., In Vivo Efficacy of Novel Rifamycin Compounds against Wild Type and Rifampin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Strains
F-2046: Rothstein, DM, et al., Efficacy of Rifalazil and Related Rifamycins in a Mouse Model of Helicobacter pylori Infection is Due to Both a Luminal and Systemic Component
F-2047: Chen Y, et al., The Pharmacokinetics of ABI-0043, a Novel Rifamycin Antibacterial, in Healthy Beagle Dogs and Male Sprague-Dawley Rats Following Oral and Intravenous Administration
F-2048: Farquhar, R, et al., Activity of Novel Rifamycins in Assays for Human Cytochrome P450 Induction
C1-1411: Labro, MT, Effects of KRM-1648 (Rifalazil) on Oxidant Production by Human Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils (PMN)
The full text of each poster is available on ActivBiotics' website. Please visit: http://www.activbiotics.com/companyProfile/icaac2005.html
About ActivBiotics, Inc.
ActivBiotics, Inc. is a private biopharmaceutical company located in Lexington, MA, focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of breakthrough antibacterials for high-value chronic and infectious disease markets. The Company's lead product candidate, rifalazil, is being studied in a pivotal study in patients with intermittent claudication, a manifestation of Peripheral Arterial Disease. The Company's lead pre-clinical compound in its pipeline of novel rifamycins, ABI-0043, shows significant potential for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). For more information, please visit the web site at: http://www.activbiotics.com.
ActivBiotics, Inc.CONTACT: Mr. Glenn KazoChief, Business Officer of ActivBiotics, Inc.,+1-781-372-4864, gkazo@activbiotics.com
Web site: http://www.activbiotics.com//
