Amedeo Challenge

Serious infectious diseases remain a major burden on human health on a world-wide scale. The last decades have seen the emergence of more resistant and more resilient pathogenic microorganisms. Thus, physicians are confronted with the growing challenge of keeping abreast with the latest developments in anti-infective therapy. In line with its long-standing commitment to promote state-of-the-art care for patients with serious infections, Pfizer decided to join the AMEDEO Challenge Sponsors and support the writing of textbooks that comprehensively cover current information on pharmacology and clinical use of available anti-infective drugs. The winning book should represent an up-to-date reference source in the complex and rapidly evolving field of anti-infectives.

Creating new drugs for bad bugs

From the middle of the last century, Pfizer has constantly devoted a great deal of resources to the research and development of innovative antimicrobial medications. Starting out with a breakthrough technique for mass production of penicillin and the development of doxycyclin, Pfizer regularly introduces important innovations in antimicrobial therapy that included e.g. Unasyn^® (ampicillin/sulbactam) and Zithromax^® (azithromycin) in the 80s and 90s.

In 2001, Zyvox^® (linezolid) entered the stage, representing the first new antibiotic class in thirty years (the oxazolidinones), a major breakthrough in the combat against multi-resistant bacterial pathogens. Linezolid proved to be superior to vancomycin - the intensive care antibiotic - in several indications. It will soon be joined by dalbavancin, a novel glycopeptide with extended half life, that allows efficacious therapy of multi-resistant gram-positive infections with once weekly dosing.

In the field of invasive mycoses, Vfend^® (voriconazole) is the first antifungal to provide superior survival rates vs. the long-time gold standard in severe mould infections (amphotericin B). Building on this success, Pfizers new echinocandin Eraxis^® (anidulafungin) is the first antifungal showing superior clinical activity in invasive yeast infections vs. established state-of-the-art therapy.

With Diflucan^® (fluconazole) - the first broadly used azole antifungal that has been a mainstay in the treatment of mycoses in HIV/AIDS since the early 1990s - as well as the antiretrovirals Rescriptor^® (delavirdine) and Viracept^® (nelfinavir), Pfizer has a long-standing commitment to HIV care. It will shortly expand its contributions in this field by the cell entry inhibitor maraviroc, that exploits a novel mechanism of action against HIV and will be first in class on the market.

References

Zyvox^® (linezolid)

Kollef MH, Rello J, Cammarata SK, Croos-Dabrera RV, Wunderink RG. Clinical cure and survival in Gram-positive ventilator-associated pneumonia: retrospective analysis of two double-blind studies comparing linezolid with vancomycin. Intensive Care Med 2004; 30: 388-94. Epub 2004 Jan 9. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=14714107

Wunderink RG, Rello J, Cammarata SK, Croos-Dabrera RV, Kollef MH. Linezolid vs vancomycin: analysis of two double-blind studies of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nosocomial pneumonia. Chest 2003; 124: 1789-97. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=14605050 - Free full text at http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/conte nt/full/124/5/1789

Kullberg BJ, Sobel JD, Ruhnke M, Pappas PG, Viscoli C, Rex JH, Cleary JD, Rubinstein E, Church LW, Brown JM, Schlamm HT, Oborska IT, Hilton F, Hodges MR. Voriconazole versus a regimen of amphotericin B followed by fluconazole for candidaemia in non-neutropenic patients: a randomised non-inferiority trial. Lancet 2005; 366: 1435-42. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=16243088

Vfend^® (voriconazole)

Herbrecht R, Denning DW, Patterson TF, Bennett JE, Greene RE, Oestmann JW, Kern WV, Marr KA, Ribaud P, Lortholary O, Sylvester R, Rubin RH, Wingard JR, Stark P, Durand C, Caillot D, Thiel E, Chandrasekar PH, Hodges MR, Schlamm HT, Troke PF, de Pauw B; Invasive Fungal Infections Group of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer and the Global Aspergillus Study Group. Voriconazole versus amphotericin B for primary therapy of invasive aspergillosis. N Engl J Med 2002; 347: 408-15. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=12167683 - Free full text at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/ab stract/347/6/408

Eraxis^® (anidulafungin)

Vazquez JA, Sobel JD. Anidulafungin: a novel echinocandin. Clin Infect Dis 2006; 43: 215-22. Epub 2006 Jun 9. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=16779750

Dalbavancin

Pope SD, Roecker AM. Dalbavancin: a novel lipoglycopeptide antibacterial. Pharmacotherapy 2006; 26: 908-18. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=16803423

Maraviroc

Dorr P, Westby M, Dobbs S, Griffin P, Irvine B, Macartney M, Mori J, Rickett G, Smith-Burchnell C, Napier C, Webster R, Armour D, Price D, Stammen B, Wood A, Perros M. Maraviroc (UK-427,857), a potent, orally bioavailable, and selective small-molecule inhibitor of chemokine receptor CCR5 with broad-spectrum anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 activity. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2005; 49: 4721-32. Abstract: http://amedeo.com/lit.php?id=16251317 - Free full text at http:// www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16251317

Design:

Amedeo Challenge Alert

Amedeo Challenge is a
Bernd Sebastian Kamps website.