Latest Clostridium Stories

Scientists on the Norwich Research Park have sequenced the genome of a novel strain of Clostridium botulinum, one of the most dangerous pathogens known to man. The strain produces an unusual botulinum neurotoxin, known as type A5 neurotoxin, which was isolated by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), following a case of wound botulism.Professor Mike Peck and his research group at the Institute of Food Research (IFR) study Clostridium botulinum. Their expertise is crucial for preventing food...

Transplanted enzyme pathway makes E. coli churn out n-butanolUniversity of California, Berkeley, chemists have engineered bacteria to churn out a gasoline-like biofuel at about 10 times the rate of competing microbes, a breakthrough that could soon provide an affordable and "green" transportation fuel.The development is reported online this week in advance of publication in the journal Nature Chemical Biology by Michelle C. Y. Chang, assistant professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley,...

A new, safe alternative antimicrobial formula to displace traditional highly-toxic sporicidal disinfectants could help reduce the growing number of hospital-acquired Clostridum difficile-related infections. Farmington Hills, MI (Vocus/PRWEB) March 01, 2011 UrthTech, a Farmington Hills, Michigan based company, announced today that it found its patented Urthâ„¢ chemical technology is an effective antimicrobial agent against Clostridium difficile (C. diff) spores. Reports from ATS Labs...

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) today announced that former ViroPharma executive, Glenn Tillotson, Ph.D., has joined Optimer as Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs; Sherwood Gorbach, M.D., has been promoted to the position of Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development; and Marc Lesnick, Ph.D., has been promoted to the newly created position of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. (Logo:...

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) announced The New England Journal of Medicine has published results from the North American Phase 3 trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Company's novel antibiotic fidaxomicin as a treatment for patients with Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The Phase 3 trial showed that fidaxomicin significantly reduced recurrence rates and increased global cure rates when compared to vancomycin, the only...

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 7,863,249 which covers additional dosage forms of fidaxomicin. This patent further strengthens Optimer's patent protection for fidaxomicin. The newly issued patent and a previously issued patent encompassing fidaxomicin are both orange book listable. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090413/LA97352LOGO) "The...

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) today announced that fidaxomicin, the Company's lead product candidate, has been granted orphan drug designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of pediatric Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). This orphan drug designation applies to the active moiety and covers all formulations of fidaxomicin used to treat Clostridium difficile infection in children 16 years of age or...

Hospitalized children in the United States are more frequently becoming infected with the bacteria Clostridium difficile, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.C. difficile can colonize the gastrointestinal tract and lead to infection, according to background information in the article. While some infected patients have no symptoms, others develop diarrhea, toxic...

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OPTR) is scheduled to present at the 29th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. Pedro Lichtinger, Optimer's President and Chief Executive Officer, will present at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time (11:30 a.m. Eastern Time). (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090413/LA97352LOGO) A live audio webcast of this presentation...

About one in six Americans, or roughly 48 million people, are sickened from with foodborne illnesses each year, according to new estimates released Wednesday from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of those, nearly 3,000 are killed and 128,000 require hospitalization due to their illness, the health agency said.The figures are the first comprehensive estimates since 1999, and are the CDC's first to include illnesses caused solely by foods consumed in the United...