Schering Plough highlights antibiotic benefits for abdominal infections

Schering-Plough has released new data for its fluoroquinolone antibiotic, Avelox, which demonstrates the drug’s effectiveness in treating “complicated” intra-abdominal infections (cIAI).

The company enrolled 595 patients with cIAI to be treated with Avelox, either in oral or intravenous form, or a combination therapy.

Presenting at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), researchers found that mortality rates and hospital stays were comparable for both groups, while 80.9 per cent of patients receiving Avelox monotherapy were cured, compared to 82.3 per cent of combination therapy users.

Additionally, both treatment types were “well-tolerated” by patients.

Schering-Plough claims that the data demonstrates that an Avelox monotherapy is as effective as a combination therapy comprising ceftriaxone, metronidazole and amoxicillin/clavulanate.

Robert J Spiegel, chief medical officer and senior vice president of the Schering-Plough Research Institute, said that cIAI often involves the presence of various types of bacteria, necessitating the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics.

“The data presented at ICAAC further underscore the efficacy of once-daily Avelox monotherapy in treating these infections,” he stated.

The Department of Health describes antibiotic resistance as a “major cause of concern”, requiring a “more prudent” use of antibiotics.

In May, MSD announced it had discovered a new class of antibiotic called platensimycin, derived from a soil sample from South Africa.