October 2008: Destiny Pharma Presents at the joint 48th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC)/Infectious Diseases of America (IDSA) 46th Annual Meeting in Washington, USA
Destiny Pharma was invited to present five poster presentations and an oral presentation at this year's joint ICAAC/IDSA meeting in Washington DC on the latest data on the company's portfolio of exciting antibacterial compounds. The company presented data on the startling anti-biofilm activity of its lead compound XF-73 which garnered a significant amount of interest amongst delegates. New data on the mode of action of the rapid antibacterial activity of Destiny Pharma's lead compound, XF-73 was also presented, complemented by further data on in vitro resistance investigations, compared to marketed antibiotics. In vivo efficacy data on DPD-207, another of Destiny's exciting portfolio of compounds was presented for the first time at this prestigious conference. Copies of the poster presentations will be available shortly for download from the website, but please contact us if you would like a copy of the posters ahead of this.
May 2008: Media Coverage of Destiny Pharma
The worldwide media has heralded Destiny Pharma's XF-73 as a breakthrough treatment for MRSA. More than 200 articles appeared in May 2008 alone. The significance of Destiny Pharma's breakthrough treatment for MRSA has received widespread recognition throughout the world's media. Reports that XF-73 kills the five most deadly strains of MRSA even after 55 repeat doses was front page news in the UK press and made headlines in TV and radio. Here is a sample of quotes from just a few of them:
FRONT PAGE STORY Independent on Sunday-MRSA: The cure
"A cure for MRSA appears to be within grasp after scientists claimed
to have developed a drug that destroys the most virulent strains of
the deadly superbug. The breakthrough by British researchers could save
1,600 lives a year and wipe out the highly infectious bacteria".
Read
full story.
BBC News-New drug 'can kill MRSA superbug'
"Researchers at Brighton-based Destiny Pharma are testing the bactericidal
compound in the hope it can be used in hospitals by 2011". Read
full story.
FRONT PAGE STORY Daily Express-Wonder gel will cure MRSA
"The revolutionary compound, codename XF-73, is easily applied
in a gel to the nostrils. It succeeds where traditional antibiotics
fail because it kills the virus outright - rather than merely trying
to contain it - by attacking the membrane and preventing it from mutating".
Read full story.
Daily Mail-Could a dab of gel to the nose beat superbug MRSA?
"Crucially, the compound works in a different-way to antibiotics,
many of which simply prevent MRSA from multiplying in the body. XF-73
works by destroying the superbug's cell membrane". Read
full story.
Daily Telegraph-MRSA: UK scientists close to a treatment
"Unlike most anti-MRSA drugs which just prevent the bacterium growing
and breeding, XF-73 is intended actually to kill the microbes. And as
studies suggest that MRSA does not develop resistance to the drug, even
after repeated exposures, researchers are optimistic that it could hold
the key to stamping out the disease". Read
full story.
May 2008: Nasal MRSA colonization rate in USA doubles in
two years
The National Center for Preparedness, Detection & Control of Infectious
Diseases and the Center for Disease Control & Prevention, USA, published
a major article entitled, Changes in the Prevalence of Nasal Colonization
with Staphylococcus aureus in the United States, 2001-2204, in the Journal
of Infectious Disease, 1st May, 2008: 197, 1226-34.
Surveys of over >9,000 US citizens, (covering all age groups), tested
for nasal colonization with MRSA during two time periods, 2001-2002
and 2003-2004. The results showed a significant (p<0.05) increase
in the rate of nasal MRSA carriage in the population between the two
time points, 0.8% (2001-2002) and 1.5% (2003-2004). This would equate
to approximately 4.5 million US citizens with nasal MRSA colonization
in 2003-2004.
April 2008: Destiny Pharma Presents at ECCMID 2008
The latest data on in vitro resistance investigations, the Gram-positive
antibacterial spectrum and investigations into the mode of action of
the rapid antibacterial activity of Destiny Pharma's lead compound,
XF-73, was presented at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology
and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID)
held between 19th and 22nd of April in Barcelona, Spain.
April 2008: Destiny Pharma issues press release at ECCMID 2008
Destiny Pharma issued the following press release at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) on the exciting data presented at the conference on the world's longest passage study on MRSA strains finds which found no development of resistance to Destiny Pharma's lead antimicrobial, XF-73.
PRESS RELEASE: A pharmaceutical company pioneering a new approach to antimicrobials is today announcing the results of its 55 passage study into the major infection causing strains of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Destiny Pharma tested the efficacy of its XF-73 drug against five of the most clinically important and difficult to treat Hospital Associated (HA) and Community Associated (CA)-MRSA strains in the world. This study included the most prevalent HA-MRSA clone in the USA (NRS 382) and two major CA-MRSA strains (USA300 and USA400) over 55 passages yet found no development of resistance to XF-73. This is believed to be the longest drug resistance, bacterial passage study conducted by any drug development company to date.
XF-73 is a leading drug in Destiny Pharma's new class of antimicrobial
agents, which have a fundamentally different mode of action to antibiotics.
Studies to date indicate that the activity of XF-73 appears to result
from a lethal interaction with the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane.
This novel way of working means that the XF drug series may not be predisposed to any of the current pathways by which bacteria have developed resistance to antibiotics. It has been shown to be effective against a range of Gram positive bacteria including MSSA, HA-MRSA, CA-MRSA, and Clostridium difficile.
Today's results suggest that XF-73's remote resistance profile may allow widespread MRSA decolonisation in hospitals to support national initiatives for effective infection control. XF-73's efficacy and the lack of resistance displayed by USA 300 after 55 passages may also have significant ramifications in the battle against CA-MRSA.
The 55 passage study also included the topical antibiotic fusidic acid as a comparator and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) were determined for both this and XF-73. During the trial five 'Network on Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus" (NARSA) strains were tested: NRS382 (USA 100), NRS384 (USA 300), NRS271, NRS123 (USA 400) and NRS387 (USA 800). All five strains were passaged 55 times at 0.5 MIC to determine any increase in the MIC.
The initial MICs of XF-73 and fusidic acid against the five strains tested were 0.25-0.5 mg/L and 0.12-0.25mg/L respectively. The results showed that all five strains tested rapid developed resistance to fusidic acid as demonstrated by a rapid increase in the MIC of fusidic acid after only two to five repeat passages. At the end of the study, the MIC of fusidic acid had increased over 2000-fold in four MRSA strains and over 1000-fold in the fifth strain. XF-73 on the other hand had shown no significant increase in MIC, indicating that no resistance had developed in any of the five MRSA's, even after 55 passages.
Destiny Pharma has completed its first Phase I clinical trial and is initiating further clinical studies in 2008. The company gained approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in 2007 to conduct Phase I clinical trials in the UK using XF-73 for nasal decolonisation of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.
It is anticipated that the XF-73 compound will generate a huge amount of interest as it could lead to the marketing of a range of new medicines which could play a key role in the future treatment of both hospital and community acquired MRSAs and other infections.
The study report from the first Phase I clinical study of XF-73 is expected later this year.
January 2008: Destiny Pharma Abstracts Accepted for ECCMID 2008
Destiny Pharma has continued its 100% success rate in acceptance for conference abstracts by having three abstracts accepted for presentation at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) meeting to be held in Barcelona, Spain in April 2008. Dr Bill Love, CEO of Destiny Pharma said: "This is an endorsement of the quality of the science that Destiny generates and we are pleased to be able to present at this prestigious meeting".
October 2007: UK to introduce MRSA screening for all hospital admissions
The UK government has announced that in 2008, it will introduce MRSA screening for all elective hospital admissions, and subsequently (within three years) for all emergency admissions.
June 2007: Destiny Pharma Presents at Solvias Science Day
Dr Bill Love (CEO, Destiny Pharma) & Drs Pugin & Naud (Solvias AG) presented a talk entitled 'XF Anti-bacterial Drugs: From Discovery to Clinic' at the Solvias AG Science Day on 28th June 2007 at the International Congress Centre in Basel, Switzerland to an audience from the pharmaceutical and chemistry business sectors.
April 2007: First Case of CA-MRSA Skin Infection in Italy
Recently reported in 'EuroSurveillance' was a case of a three-year old boy with a severe skin and soft tissue infection caused by community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The strain was of the ST8 variety, also known as 'USA300'. This strain is less common in Europe (the ST80 strain is the most common form of CA-MRSA), but is widespread in the United States. The emergence of this strain appears to be linked to the acquisition of staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC)mec type IV, the genes for Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and the enterotoxin Q and K genes.
April 2007: Destiny Pharma Receives Approval for Starting First Clinical Trial
Destiny Pharma Ltd received approval from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to commence clinical studies and a favourable opinion from a Research Ethics Committee on its XF-73 nasal anti-staphylococcal pharmaceutical treatment. The Phase I/IIa trials will continue throughout the year.
February 2, 2007: Financial Times Online
"Making life difficult: how doctors battle to keep superbugs at bay". Read full story.
Summer 2006: Destiny Pharma Fund Raising
XF-73, a highly promising drug in the XF series, designed by Destiny Pharma to combat the MRSA hospital superbug, has secured funding for clinical trials. Read full story.
For more news see our News archive.