‘A federal initiative as ambitious as the Manhattan Project is needed to protect the nation from infectious diseases.’ — Senator Bill Frist, June 1, 2005, Harvard Medical School
DENVER, June 24, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) — The National Foundation for Infectious Disease’s annual meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (NFID) will host experts presenting the latest research in the ongoing battle against the growing threat of bacterial infections that are increasingly resistant to available antibiotics. Dr. Paul Savage, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU) will present data on a new category of antibiotics under development by Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals that have the potential to be developed into new therapies for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections such as vancomycin resistant staphylococci (VRSA), vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) and pseudomonas infections in cystic fibrosis patients that are resistant to tobramcyin.
Dr. Savage will be available to discuss the data presented in two poster presentations to interested media and the medical community on June 27th at 5:30 p.m. at the NFID conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, Md. Both presentations will demonstrate the effectiveness of a new category of antibiotics against certain drug resistant bacteria.
Breakthrough research at BYU has led to the development of Cationic Steroid Antibiotics (CSAs), which mimic the naturally occurring peptides that protect the body against bacteria, viruses, and cancer.
The first presentation by Dr. Savage concerns CSA-13 activity against vancomycin resistant bacterial infections. The second poster will present important data about tobramycin resistant pseudomonas infections from Cystic Fibrosis patients. Both represent promising data in combating lethal strains of antimicrobial resistant bacteria
The natural peptides mimicked by CSAs are the result of millions of years of evolutionary forces and are a form of endogenous antibiotics that do not trigger antibiotic resistance. The presence of these naturally occurring peptides was first discovered 20 years ago. Since then, isolating, purifying and finally synthesizing these compounds in a commercially viable formula has been a long-standing challenge in infectious disease research.
Long-term reliance on antibiotics, and the failure to produce new classes of antibiotics in recent years, has created a looming national crisis. Around the world, governments and nations are recognizing a potential catastrophe, and taking initial measures to address this growing concern. For example, Britain has the second-highest prevalence of methycillin resistant staphylococci (MRSA) in Europe, after Greece. About 46 percent of all staph infections contracted in British hospitals are MRSA. Now, MRSA has found its way into the political arena, with Tony Blair’s government promising to slash infection rates, an issue in the heated British election campaign.
Dr. Savage’s data will provide new insight into the battle against the high number of antibiotic resistant infectious diseases and give new hope for abating the crisis. The NFID conference at the end of June is highly anticipated and will be attended by the most influential names in the scientific and medical communities.
About Cationic Steroid Antibiotics
Cationic Steroid Antibiotics (CSAs) act as potent antibiotics against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, and can be used alone or with conventional antibiotics. Extensive in-vitro testing has shown that CSAs are highly effective at very low concentrations against multi-drug resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella and other potentially lethal bacteria such as methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant staph aureus (VRSA). The technology is covered by two U.S. patents (6,350,738 and 6,486,148) and has been the subject of more than 10 peer-reviewed journal articles.
About Ceragenix
Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals (OTCBB:OSCE) is a development stage healthcare company focused on dermatology, infectious diseases and oncology. Ceragenix’s patented Barrier Repair Technology, invented by Dr. Peter Elias and licensed from the University of California, is the platform for the development of two prescription topical creams — Epiceram(tm) and NeoCeram(tm) — that form human-identical skin barriers. Defects in the skin’s barrier function play critical roles in the pathogenesis of skin diseases such as eczema, irritant contact dermatitis and other common skin disorders. The Company’s patented Cationic Steroid Antibiotic (CSA) technology provides the basis for its novel antimicrobial medical device coating that may be attached to various medical devices to provide potentially long duration antimicrobial activity. Ceragenix also plans to develop CSAs for use as topical and systemic antibiotic therapies in the treatment of skin infections (MRSA), burn wound infections, eye infections and other indications.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the ability of the company to raise sufficient capital to finance its planned pharmaceutical activities, receiving the necessary marketing clearance approvals from the FDA, successful clinical trials of the company’s planned products, the ability of the company to commercialize its planned products, market acceptance of the company’s planned products, and the company’s ability to successfully compete in the marketplace. Although management believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove inaccurate and, therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by the company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the company will be achieved. For further information, please see the company’s filings with the SEC, including its Forms SB-2, 10-KSB, 10-QSB and 8-K. The company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements.
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Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals
Steven S. Porter
Chief Executive Officer
720-946-6440
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