CARB-X to fund development of anti-toxin for recurrent C difficile
CARB-X today announced an award of up to $1.26 million to Facile Therapeutics of Belmont, California, to develop a new oral drug for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections.
The money will help fund preclinical development of Ebselen, a small-molecule anti-toxin that inhibits a key biochemical function of C difficile toxins A and B, which attack the lining of the intestine. Previous studies showed Ebselen provided protection against severe intestinal damage in mice after they were exposed to virulent C difficile infections. The drug has also been tested in humans in clinical trials for stroke, and although it was not approved for that indication, it was shown to be safe.
"This is a terrific example of an attempt to repurpose a compound for use in the infectious-disease arena," CARB-X chief of research and development Erin Duffy, PhD, said in a press release. "If successful and ultimately approved for use in patients, Facile's project could represent tremendous progress in the prevention of recurrent C. difficile infections, and save many lives."
C difficile infections are traditionally treated with antibiotics, which can cure the infection but also further disrupt the microbiome and clear a path for C difficile bacteria to spread, leading to recurrent infections. At least 20% of patients who get an initial C difficile infection have a recurrent infection.
Facile could receive an additional $17 million if the project achieves certain milestones.
Since its launch in 2016, CARB-X (the Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator) has awarded more than $222 million to companies developing new treatments and diagnostics for drug-resistant pathogens.
May 18 CARB-X press release
Antimicrobial therapy guide linked to reduced antibiotic use in Spain
Implementation of a rigorous antimicrobial use guide and subsequent interventions were associated with substantial reductions in antibiotic prescribing in Spanish primary care settings, researchers reported in PLOS One.
In a quasi-experimental study, researchers with the Andalusian Public Health Care Service assessed the impact of the Aljarafe Antimicrobial Therapeutic Guide, which was published in 2011 and initially implemented in the Aljarafe Primary Health Care Area before being adopted by the Andalusian Public Health Care System. Andalusia sits at the southernmost tip of Spain.
Interventions carried out following adoption of the guide included the development of electronic decision support tools, local training meetings, regional workshops, creation of targets for rates of antibiotic prescribing, and the establishment of a structured educational antimicrobial stewardship program. Using an interrupted time-series analysis, the researchers measured rates of antibiotic use from 2004 through 2018, calculated in defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DID).
The analysis found that overall antibiotic prescribing rates were trending upward prior to the interventions. But prescribing rates dropped by 28% in the Aljarafe Area and 22% in Andalusia from 2011 through 2018 following the interventions, at rates of -0.90 DID per year (95% confidence interval [CI], -1.05 to -0.75) in Aljarafe, and -0.78 DID (95% CI, -0.95 to -0.60) in Andalusia.
Total penicillin use declined by 33% in Aljarafe and 25% in Andalusia, with amoxicillin clavulanate plummeting by 58% in Aljarafe and 49% in Andalusia. The prescribing of quinolones, which was decreasing before the interventions, continued to decline following interventions, with more pronounced downward trends. Use of cephalosporins also continued to decline, at a lesser extent, following interventions in Andalusia. The rate of macrolide prescribing went from a downward trend to an upward trend from 2011 to 2018.
"Reductions in antibiotic prescriptions were more pronounced in the Aljarafe Area where the guide was developed, and where additional interventions included in the local implementation plan were carried out," the authors of the study wrote. "The impact of interventions in the whole region, although with less intensity than in the Aljarafe Area, was similar in terms of the decrease of prescribing rates and decreasing tendencies."
May 15 PLOS One study