Cubicin and antibiotics
Cubicin is the first in a new class of antibiotics approved in Sept 2003 by the FDA. This is the first new antibiotic in many years and with the rise in resistant bacteria, there will be even more need to new antibiotics in the future. However, currently most pharmaceutical companies have gotten out of the antibiotic business. One reason for this is because more money can be made in other therapeutic areas especially in those that treat chronic disorders. This has created a great opportunity for the growing biotech industry to step in and fill that gap. This is what Cubist Pharmaceutical did with Cubicin which they licensed from Eli Lilly.
Also, antibiotic over-prescription and incorrect use add to the problem resulting in excellent conditions to develop bacterial resistance. I know people who, once they get to feeling better, stop taking their antibiotics. This results in conditions under which the few bacteria that do survive have resistance to those drugs. Also, some doctors seem to bow to the demands of their patients for antibiotics even in cases where the cause is most likely viral and not bacterial. They follow the path of least resistance but this leads to unintended consequences.
Quite a few years ago I was involve in developing a manufacturing route for a new beta-lactam and the group spent a lot of time and effort into creating a viable chemical synthesis for the first few kilograms so that clinical studies could get underway. However, after about 8 months of work by a team of about 8 folks and just when the route had been completed and was ready, the marketing department admitted they made a decimal point error in the calculations and the project was cancelled because not enough money could be made from the product. I’ve had a lot of projects fail along the development pathway but this was the first time I was involved with a project that was cancelled due to a marketing mistake.
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July 25th, 2006 at 6:53 am
Most of the people using antibiotics don’t exactly know waht are antibiotics? Well An antibiotic is a medical drug that slows and kills the growth of bacteria. Cubicin is a kind of such drug.