COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- N8 Respiratory, LLC., (a subsidiary of N8 Medical, Inc.) an emerging respiratory therapeutics company focused on the development of ceragenins as anti-infective therapies for treatment of chronic cystic fibrosis pulmonary infections, announced new results today from a preclinical study demonstrating its lead compound CSA-13's efficacy as an antimicrobial peptide mimic against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, often a persistent pulmonary infection associated with cystic fibrosis.
The study showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CSA-13 (1.6-3.2 µg/ml) was unchanged in the presence of sputum from CF patients, while the MIC of tobramycin (the most common antibiotic for pulmonary P. aeruginosa infections) increased significantly (from 0.8 µg/ml to >64 mg/ml) in the presence of sputum from CF patients. CSA-13's MIC also remained unchanged whether tested in a tobramycin susceptible, or a tobramycin resistant strain (AGR 2).
"This is an encouraging study, as it demonstrates the ability of CSA-13 to remain effective even in the presence of sputum from a cystic fibrosis patient," said Paul B. Savage, MD, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University. "Further, it confirms previous findings that the compound may continue to be effective even in antibiotic-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa. While antibiotic resistance continues to be a concern, we are seeing potential, at least in this context, to find solutions."
The study, which will be presented as a poster at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Atlanta, GA, measured efficacy and the MIC of CSA-13 and tobramycin when combined with standard and tobramycin-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa. Sputum of cystic fibrosis patients was also added to each treatment to determine the impact of biofilm on each treatment.
"This preclinical study is promising on a number of fronts," said Dr. Michael Triplett, CEO of N8 Respiratory. "While it demonstrates the efficacy of our compound, CSA-13 in an extremely challenging more real-world like context, it also presents N8 with the opportunity to present real solutions to the medical community and CF patients."
N8 Respiratory, LLC, a subsidiary of N8 Medical, Inc., is a privately held, emerging respiratory therapeutics company focused on the development of anti-infective therapies for the treatment of chronic cystic fibrosis infections. The company, based in Columbus, OH, is currently developing a first-in-class, novel anti-infective that may replicate how the human immune system kills pathogens.