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| Kenta's lead product targets nosocomial infections with a high medical need |
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Hospital Acquired Infections -A Major Problem
Human infectious diseases are caused by infections with pathogenic organisms such as bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses. Nosocomial infections are infections acquired in hospitals and nursing homes. They affect an estimated 10% of all hospitalised patients, causing urinary tract infections, wound infections, pneumonia, or blood stream infections. They are important causes of morbidity and mortality, and represent a significant economic burden to third party payers and society. According to an estimate from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nosocomial infections generate costs of over .5 billion per year. In severe cases, such as blood stream infections and pneumonia, the financial burden can be substantially higher.
Patients with ineffective immune systems (including the elderly and the young) are especially susceptible. Nosocomial infections are acquired through direct contact from hospital staff, patient-to-patient transmission, inadequately sterilised instruments, invasive interventions, or even via the food or water provided at hospitals. Most hospital-acquired infections are caused by bacteria, in particular by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus spp. These infections are usually treated with a combination of several antibiotics. However, the increasing resistance of bacteria to one or more commonly used antibiotics is a major problem. The consequences of nosocomial infections in the best cases may just be prolonged hospitalisation, but in many cases infection can be life-threatening. In particular, blood stream infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia are often lethal, killing up to 50% of severely affected patients.
The exact incidence of nosocomial infections is unknown, but it is estimated that over 2 million nosocomial infections occur annually in the United States and about 1.2 million such infections occur in Europe.
Current and Future Treatment of Nosocomial Infections
The mainstay of current medical treatment of nosocomial infections is antibiotic therapy, usually given in a combination of up to three agents.
Across the seven major markets, US, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, UK, and Spain, the hospital antibacterial market is valued at .4 billion, representing approximately 30% of all antibacterial sales.
Although antibiotics have been successfully used over the past decades, they have severe limitations such as side effects, slow onset of action, and ineffective penetration of certain areas. More importantly, the emergence of virulent, antimicrobial resistant strains of bacteria has become a major problem, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. In up to 60% of infectious diseases, the organism is resistant to the best drug available. This is especially true for P. aeruginosa and S. aureus (eg. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA).
The risk of dying from such a serious infection in an intensive care setting is estimated to be as high as 50%. In addition, the length of ICU/hospital stay medication and additional intensive care interventions are very costly. There is a very high unmet medical need for drugs that effectively fight serious infections that are also well tolerated.
Patients who are particularly susceptible to nosocomial infections, such as immunocompromised individuals (burn victims, patients undergoing organ transplantations, cancer patients, AIDS patients) and neonates (either of normal or low birth weight), would benefit from such new treatment options.
It is expected that, in the future, monoclonal antibodies will represent an important treatment option that will be added to current medication to fight infections more effectively. There are many advantages to using therapeutic antibodies in addition to current therapy:
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MAbs may act faster than current antibiotic treatments. |
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MAbs complement and improve antibiotic therapy without interfering (due to the different mode of action). Combined treatment with antibiotics may lead to more rapid resolution of infection, resulting in shorter stays in ICUs and a significant reduction of morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. |
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MAbs may be capable of reaching infection sites more effectively than other currently used drugs. |
With its fully human therapeutic antibodies, Kenta Biotech is well positioned to address these high unmet medical needs. |
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