Newswise — To mark American Diabetes Month, each week throughout November and the American Diabetes Association will focus on a different "face" of diabetes. In addition, the General Assembly of the United Nations recently passed a landmark resolution recognizing diabetes as a chronic, debilitating, and costly disease. This resolution designates World Diabetes Day as an official United Nations Day to be observed each year beginning November 14, 2007, thus ensuring even greater awareness of this disease throughout the world.
Two potentially serious diseases facing millions of people with diabetes are Diabetic Foot Infection (DFI) and onychomycosis (commonly known as nail fungus). Onychomycosis affects twenty to thirty million people in the United States. Untreated, the disease causes nails to thicken, resulting in localized pressure-related pain. Recent studies have shown that diabetics are more than twice as likely as non-diabetics to develop onychomycosis, and those who are afflicted with nail fungus have a substantially higher risk of developing ulcers on their feet. These ulcers are not only unsightly, but when left untreated can lead to severe infection and potentially the necessary amputation of toes or even the entire foot.
For those covering medical news, MacroChem makes available Robert J. DeLuccia, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Vice Chairman of the Board of MacroChem. DeLuccia and his research team are currently developing a novel topical anti-infective for the treatment of diabetic foot infection, specifically pexiganan, one of a new class of antimicrobial peptides known as magainins, and a topically applied lacquer for the treatment of onychomycosis.
Biography on Expert Robert J. DeLuccia joined MacroChem's Board in 2000 and accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board in June of 2003. Mr. DeLuccia is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Immunomedics, Inc., a Nasdaq biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of antibody diagnostic imaging and therapeutic products for cancer and infectious diseases. Prior to Immunomedics, he was President of Sterling Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, the U.S. subsidiary of Sanofi (now Sanofi-Aventis). Mr. DeLuccia began his career as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Pfizer and progressed to Vice President Marketing and Sales Operations for Pfizer's Roerig Division. He is also a member of the board of directors of IBEX Technologies, a publicly traded (TSX) pharmaceutical company specializing in the development of biological markers for diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of cancer and arthritis, and TOPIGEN Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company and developer of anti-inflammatory respiratory products. Mr. DeLuccia holds both a B.S. and an M.B.A. in marketing from Iona College.
DeLuccia,"¨MacroChem President and Chief Executive Officer,"¨Vice Chairman of the Board, serves as an expert resource on the following:"¢ Diabetes Awareness"¢ Infected Diabetic Foot Ulcers"¢ Nail Fungus"¢ Topical Anti-Infectives
Mr. DeLuccia can address the following FAQs:"¢ What is Diabetic Foot Infection?"¢ How does Diabetic Foot Infection attack the body?"¢ How can novel localized topical medication be used for the treatment of diabetic foot infection?"¢ Why might such a treatment program be preferable to a traditional course of systemic antibiotics?"¢ How important are antimicrobial peptides in the natural control of human infections?
MacroChem Corporation is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and seeks to commercialize pharmaceutical products. Its lead product candidate is EcoNail®, a topically applied SEPA®-based econazole lacquer for the treatment of onychomycosis, a condition commonly known as nail fungus. The company recently acquired exclusive worldwide license rights to pexiganan, a novel topical anti-infective for the treatment of diabetic foot infection, which has already completed two Phase III trials. Its other clinical stage product candidate, Opterone®, is a topically applied SEPA-based testosterone cream designed to treat male hypogonadism. The company's pipeline of clinical-stage and early-stage product candidates is based on its SEPA, MacroDermTM and DermaPassTM drug delivery technologies.
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