CONTACT: Michael Blash Zeneca Pharmaceuticals 302-886-5465 [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW DATA FROM CLINICAL STUDIES SHOW ANTIBIOTIC EFFECTIVE IN TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL MENINGITIS IN CHILDREN
MERREM I.V. shows activity against resistant bacterial strains; Presents physicians with therapy option in treatment of bacterial meningitis
TORONTO--September 30, 1997-- New data from a clinical trial of the injectible antibiotic MERREM I.V. a (meropenem for injection) demonstrate that the drug is effective against the major pathogens associated with pediatric meningitis and is well tolerated among patients participating in the study. Results of the clinical study--the first large-scale trial of a carbapenem in the treatment of pediatric meningitis--were presented at the 37th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 28 to October 1, 1997.
During the 10-center, randomized, single-blind study, 154 patients ages two months to 12 years received either MERREM I.V. (40 mg/kg every eight hours) or cefotaxime (45 mg/kg every six hours). Demographic characteristics and clinical condition of the patients at entry were similar in both groups.
In the study, MERREM I.V. eradicated all causative bacteria, including one penicillin-resistant strain of S pneumoniae, in patients with susceptible pathogens treated in the study. Also, the prevalence of illness-related seizures in the MERREM I.V. patient population was approximately one-third less than that of the cefotaxime group (12% vs. 19%, respectively).
At the conference, William J. Rodriguez, M.D., an infectious disease specialist with Children's National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., presented data which demonstrated the clinical efficacy of MERREM I.V. against bacterial meningitis in infants and children. "MERREM I.V. proved to be as efficacious and as well tolerated as cefotaxime and should be considered as the first realistic carbapenem option for the treatment of pediatric meningitis," said Dr. Rodriguez.
"With more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria presenting, treating infectious diseases like meningitis is becoming more problematic for the health care community at large, particularly when treatment options are limited," said Victor Slotnick, M.D., Medical Director, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals. "The data in this study demonstrate the efficacy of MERREM I.V., which presents physicians with another effective and well-tolerated monotherapy option to control pediatric bacterial meningitis."
MERREM I.V. is a broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotic for use in treating adults and children with certain serious bacterial infections caused by susceptible strains of designated organisms and belongs to the carbapenem class of beta-lactam antibiotics. The drug is indicated in the U.S. for the treatment of intra-abdominal infections in adults and pediatric patients with complicated appendicitis and peritonitis and for the treatment of bacterial meningitis in pediatric patients. MERREM I.V. shows activity against many different bacteria, including some which are resistant to other antibiotics.
The most frequently occurring adverse events in the trial included rash, diarrhea, and seizures in both treatment groups, though none of the seizures were considered related to study therapy. Zeneca Pharmaceuticals is a business unit of Zeneca Inc., a $3.1 billion bioscience business with approximately 7,200 employees in the United States. Zeneca Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the U.K.-based Zeneca Group PLC (NYSE:ZEN), a major $9 billion international bioscience business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of ethical (prescription) pharmaceuticals, agricultural and specialty chemical products, and the supply of health care services.
# # #
NOTE: For full prescribing information, please call Michael Blash at 302-886-5465.
RSS