INDUSTRY NEWS
A new class of compounds eventually could be used as an antimicrobial coating on a variety of implantable medical devices. The Ceragenin compound from Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Denver, CO, USA) has a net-positive charge, making it electrostatically attracted to the negatively charged cell membranes of certain viruses, fungi, and bacteria. The drug causes the rapid cell death of microbes once it comes in contact with them. The drug’s mechanism of action is similar to antimicrobial peptides naturally found in the body, and it is effective against bacteria that are resistant to conventional antibiotics.
The drug’s efficacy is supported by a 21-day study in which polyurethane catheters treated with Ceragenin were soaked daily in a phosphate-buffered solution. On the last day of the study, the catheters were challenged with an inoculum of 1 million colony-forming units of a methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. Fewer than 100 colony-forming units adhered to the surface of the treated catheters, whereas the untreated control was covered with 30,000 bacteria.
“The study demonstrates the potential for Ceragenin to be used as an antimicrobial treatment for indwelling medical devices,” says Steven S. Porter, chairman and CEO of Ceragenix. The compound could have a range of clinical and industrial applications. “The uniqueness of this technology and this particular molecule lends itself not only to the coating of implantable medical devices but also for surgical drapes, wall coverings, etc.,” says the drug’s inventor, Paul Savage, who is a professor at Brigham Young University (Provo, UT, USA).
The drug has also been shown to be capable of killing multiple strains of HIV in early test-tube research at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN, USA). Although the compound does not appear to be toxic to the body’s epithelial cells, it targets the HIV membrane by preventing it from locking onto cells and reproducing. In other preliminary research, the compound was shown to be effective against diseases such as influenza, bird flu, herpes, and smallpox.
For more information, contact Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., 1444 Wazee St., Ste. 210, Denver, CO 80202, USA; phone: +1 720 9466440; fax: +1 303 5341860; Internet: www.ceragenix.com.
