Cempra Pharmaceuticals stages a presentation on CEM-101

Cempra PharmaceuticalsOct 29 2009

Cempra Pharmaceuticals today announced a presentation on its novel fluoroketolide antibiotic, CEM-101, at the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 47th Annual Meeting, October 29 to November 1, 2009, in Philadelphia.

Susceptibility of CEM-101 and more than 25 other antibiotics was tested against 1,737 multidrug-resistant S. pneumoniae strains collected in 2008 from medical centers in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. CEM-101 demonstrated 100% coverage (100% inhibition at less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml) against these strains. Activity was slightly better than telithromycin (MIC90 of 0.25 microgram/ml for both; range of less than or equal to 0.008 to 1 for CEM-101 vs. less than or equal to 0.06 to 2 for telithromycin) and at least four-fold better than linezolid (MIC90 of 1 microgram/ml) or vancomycin (MIC90 of less than or equal to 1 microgram/ml). The study will be presented during a poster session on October 30.

CEM-101 is a new fluoroketolide antibiotic with potent and broad-spectrum activity against gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens, including multidrug-resistant strains, as well as non-bacterial pathogens such as Plasmodium falciparum. The compound recently completed a Phase 1 clinical trial and is in preparation for a Phase 2 trial in moderate to moderately-severe community-acquired bacterial pneumonia.

"The rise of multidrug-resistant organisms has become an increasing public health issue, particularly for vulnerable patient populations including those with challenging respiratory infections," said Prabhavathi Fernandes, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Cempra Pharmaceuticals. "New medications are needed that are safe and effective against these difficult-to-treat pathogens. We believe that the growing database showing the potency and broad-spectrum activity of CEM-101, not only against the pneumococcal strains presented here, but against a variety of other pathogens, indicates the potential of CEM-101 as a future go-to antibiotic for clinicians."