REINACH and BASEL, Switzerland, September 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Arpida Ltd was invited to present preclinical data at the poster summary session of new antimicrobial agents at the 47th annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) in Chicago. ICAAC is a major scientific conference where thousands of scientists and clinicians from all over the world gather to discuss the latest developments in the field of infectious diseases.
Dr Stephen Hawser, Director Microbiology of Arpida Ltd, summarized a large body of data on the novel class of 1,3-diphenylureas. His summary highlighted data generated in-house and by leading external laboratories on the promising in vitro and in vivo activity of AR-2474 against panels of bacteria known to cause topical infections, e.g., of the skin and the eye. The panel included multi-drug resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (both nosocomial and community-acquired), Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Dr Sergio Lociuro, Head of Research of Arpida Ltd, commented: AR-2474 originates from our own research discovery programs. We have successfully moved the compound from discovery to preclinical proof of concept. In two in vivo models, a preliminary topical formulation of AR-2474 was at least as efficacious as the gold standard mupirocin. We are currently conducting additional preclinical test with a view to progressing the compound into tolerability studies in the medium term. AR-2474 targets an area with a large and urgent medical need as many of the older topical drugs are progressively losing their efficacy.
About Arpida Ltd.
Arpida is a biopharmaceutical company with research facilities near Basel, Switzerland and in the USA. It focuses on the discovery and development of novel drugs that seek to overcome the growing problem of microbial resistance.
Arpida’s leading product candidate is intravenous iclaprim, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that targets severe infections requiring hospital treatment, including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The US Food and Drug Administration has granted fast track status to intravenous iclaprim. In July 2007, Arpida reported the completion of the Phase III programme in complicated skin and skin structure infections. An NDA filing is expected to take place in the second half of 2007.
In June 2007, Arpida announced that it has received approval from the US FDA to initiate Phase II trials with intravenous iclaprim in the treatment of patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) or healthcare associated pneumonia (HCAP).
An oral formulation of iclaprim has successfully completed three Phase I trials: an ADME study (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion) with radiolabelled compound, a Phase I bioavailability trial with a solution and one with a capsule formulation. Iclaprim could be offered not only as an intravenous therapy for hospital use in acute situations, but also as an oral formulation, allowing early patient discharge followed by outpatient treatment. This switch should be a valuable instrument in reducing healthcare costs and enhancing patient comfort.
Arpida’s fourth most advanced programme, AR-709, targets upper and lower respiratory tract infections acquired in the community setting. AR-709 exhibited potent activity against a large panel of pneumococcal clinical isolates including those resistant to currently used drugs. Promising results of first-in-man studies with AR-709 were published in March 2007.
An additional compound, AR-2474, has achieved in vivo proof of concept. AR-2474 has been shown to be highly effective in eradicating pathogens in preclinical models of skin infection and nasal carriage.
Apart from the antibiotic programmes, Arpida has an innovative antifungal therapy (TLT) which is about to enter Phase III clinical trials in Europe, targeting onychomycosis.
Moreover, the company has several other leads in optimisation and additional discovery programmes derived from its own discovery platform at various research stages.
This press release contains specific forward-looking statements, e.g. statements including terms like believe, assume, expect or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in a substantial divergence between the actual results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and those explicitly or implicitly presumed in these statements. Against the background of these uncertainties readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements or to adapt them to future events or developments.
Arpida contacts: Dr Khalid Islam, President and CEO Phone: +41-61-417-96-60 Harry Welten, MBA, CFO and Senior Vice President Phone: +41-61-417-96-65 Paul Verbraeken, Head of Corporate Communications Phone: +41-61-417-96-83
Arpida
Arpida
CONTACT: Arpida contacts: Dr Khalid Islam, President and CEO, Phone:+41-61-417-96-60; Harry Welten, MBA, CFO and Senior Vice President, Phone:+41-61-417-96-65; Paul Verbraeken, Head of Corporate Communications, Phone:+41-61-417-96-83
