New Haven, CT, June 2, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Melinta Therapeutics announced today it is joining with more than 150 other major food companies, retailers, and human and animal health stakeholders at the White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship to commit to implementing changes over the next five years to slow the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, detect resistant strains, preserve the efficacy of our existing antibiotics, and prevent the spread of resistant infections.
Eugene Sun, MD, Melinta's Executive Vice President, Research and Development, is attending the event today to discuss the critical role antibiotic stewardship plays in combating antibiotic resistance, and also the importance of implementing public policy measures to encourage new antibiotic drug development. Melinta is one of only a few companies with a dedicated research effort aimed at developing novel classes of antibiotics to treat the most resistant superbug pathogens. The company is also committed to providing physician and patient education on appropriate antibiotic use to minimize the spread of resistance and maintain the effectiveness of current and future antibiotics.
"We are pleased to be participating in this effort to combat antibiotic resistance," said Dr. Sun. "A multi-pronged approach is required to keep up with the relentless evolution of resistance."
Urgent Need
Today, our healthcare system lacks an arsenal of antibiotics adequate to fight the worst infections. There are an increasing number of "superbug" bacteria that are resistant to many of the available antibiotics. Just one type of resistant bacteria, known as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), kills more Americans each year than emphysema, HIV/AIDS, and Parkinson's disease combined.
Unless the global healthcare community acts quickly to restock and replenish the antibiotic arsenal, this crisis will put everyone at risk. Unfortunately, development of new drugs to stay ahead of these superbugs has slowed. More than 20 new classes of antibiotics came to market between 1940 and 1962, but only two new classes have debuted since then.
To meet this need, Melinta Therapeutics is rapidly progressing its late-stage investigational antibiotic, delafloxacin, which is currently in Phase 3 development for acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). Delafloxacin has been designated a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) for both ABSSSI and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Another key initiative at Melinta is to develop, through the application of Nobel Prize-winning science, a new class of antibiotics designed to overcome the drug-resistant pathogens known to cause serious hospital infections, such as Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella species, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species, collectively known as ESKAPE bacteria.
Melinta Therapeutics' proprietary science has yielded research programs that have generated antibiotic drug candidates that can offer new hope to overcome the most resistant infections and address a critical part of this urgent global health problem.
About Melinta Therapeutics
Melinta Therapeutics, Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development and commercialization of groundbreaking antibiotics to overcome drug-resistant, life-threatening infections. The need for new therapies for drug-resistant infections is widely recognized as one of the most serious public health issues facing the world today. Melinta Therapeutics is privately held and backed by lead investor Vatera Healthcare Partners among other private investors. The company is headquartered in New Haven, CT with offices in Lincolnshire, IL. Visit www.melinta.com for more information.