Penicillin News and Research

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Penicillin (sometimes abbreviated PCN or pen) is a group of antibiotics derived from ''Penicillium'' fungi. Penicillin antibiotics are historically significant because they are the first drugs that were effective against many previously serious diseases such as syphilis and Staphylococcus infections.

Scientists discover new variant of streptococcal bacteria that contributes to severe infections

Scientists have discovered a new variant of streptococcal bacteria that has contributed to a rise in disease cases in the UK over the last 17 years.

15 Jul 2015

Findings reveal new pathway to develop effective treatments and therapies for asthma, allergy

Investigators have discovered the precise molecular steps that enable immune cells implicated in certain forms of asthma and allergy to develop and survive in the body. The findings from Weill Cornell Medical College reveal a new pathway that scientists could use to develop more effective treatments and therapies for the chronic lung disorder.

7 Jul 2015

Basilea announces UK launch of broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera for first-line treatment of pneumonia

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG today announces the UK launch of its broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera (Ceftobiprole medocaril) for the first-line treatment of serious bacterial pneumonia.

25 Jun 2015

WHO prequalifies new male circumcision device to prevent HIV

The ShangRing, a novel medical device for voluntary medical male circumcision, has received prequalification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for use.

25 Jun 2015

New research examines antibiotic choice for treating children with community-acquired pneumonia

New Vanderbilt-led research shows hospitals are doing a better job of using antibiotics less commonly associated with antibiotic resistance to treat children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

23 Jun 2015

Australian researchers launch global search to discover antibiotics against superbug bacteria

Australian researchers from The University of Queensland have launched a global search to discover antibiotics capable of combating superbug bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics.

19 Jun 2015

Weill Cornell scientists reveal how XBP1 gene can trigger immune responses against ovarian tumors

Ovarian cancer shuts down immune system cells that would otherwise act as a first line of defense against the deadly tumor, Weill Cornell Medical College scientists report today. But a therapy that restores the cells' disease-fighting abilities could provide a powerful new strategy to attack the cancer, which kills more than 14,000 women each year.

12 Jun 2015

Common antibiotic azithromycin effectively kills many multidrug-resistant bacteria

Contrary to current medical dogma, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences report that the common antibiotic azithromycin kills many multidrug-resistant bacteria very effectively — when tested under conditions that closely resemble the human body and its natural antimicrobial factors.

11 Jun 2015

NanoPass signs license agreement for supply of MicronJet600 device to Circassia

NanoPass Technologies Ltd., a pioneer in intradermal delivery solutions for vaccines, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement for the supply of MicronJet600, its microneedle delivery device, to Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc. (Oxford, UK), a specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on the allergy market.

6 May 2015

New study finds high levels of HCV infection among HIV-infected people across Africa

A new study has found high levels of infection with hepatitis C (HCV) across Africa, particularly in people infected with HIV.

6 May 2015

Study opens door for new therapeutic approaches to treating patients with melanoma

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have shown for the first time that a gene previously implicated in blood vessel formation during embryonic development and tumor growth also induces immune suppression during tumor development.

30 Apr 2015

Rising shortages of key antibiotics raise serious concerns about effects on patient care

Shortages of key antibiotics, including gold-standard therapies and drugs used to treat highly resistant infections, are on the rise, according to a new study of shortages from 2001 to 2013 published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online. The trends raise serious concerns about the effects on patient care, particularly for infections without effective alternative treatment options.

23 Apr 2015

Global changes in cancer cells' epigenome may determine disease progression

Genomic studies have illuminated the ways in which malfunctioning genes can drive cancer growth while stunting the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy and other treatments. But new findings from Weill Cornell Medical College investigators indicate that these genes are only partly to blame for why treatment that was at one point effective ultimately fails for about 40 percent of patients diagnosed with the most common form of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

21 Apr 2015

Researchers reveal obstacles that prevent Ugandans with RHD from getting life-saving penicillin

Penicillin has nearly eradicated rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in the United States. But 15 million people still suffer with the disease worldwide, and 1.4 million die each year, according to World Heart Federation.

2 Apr 2015

Synthetic Biologics begins SYN-004 Phase 2a clinical trial to prevent C. difficile infection

Synthetic Biologics, Inc., a developer of pathogen-specific therapies for serious infections and diseases, with a focus on protecting the microbiome, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2a clinical trial to evaluate the gastrointestinal (GI) antibiotic-degrading effects and the safety of SYN-004, the Company's investigational oral beta-lactamase enzyme designed to protect the microbiome and prevent C. difficile infection (CDI).

30 Mar 2015

Researchers use genetic information to track the fatal spread of multidrug-resistant TB

Scientists have for the first time used DNA sequencing to trace the fatal spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis between patients in the UK.

24 Mar 2015

Study shows that households can serve as reservoir for transmitting MRSA

Households can serve as a reservoir for transmitting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to a study published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Once the bacteria enters a home, it can linger for years, spreading from person to person and evolving genetically to become unique to that household.

10 Mar 2015

New study could lead to better remedies for insomnia, more effective anaesthetic drugs

Scientists have discovered that switching on one area of the brain chemically can trigger a deep sleep.

24 Feb 2015

Study findings could lead to new potential drug targets for allergic diseases

Scientists have discovered over 30 new genes that predispose people to allergies and asthma, some of which could be targets for new drugs.

19 Feb 2015

Weill Cornell receives NIH grant to study TB-causing bacteria

In an effort to stop tuberculosis (TB) from becoming progressively less treatable worldwide, the National Institutes of Health has awarded Weill Cornell Medical College more than $6.2 million in first-year funding to support a research collaboration among six institutions in close alliance with voluntary pharmaceutical partners.