Ceragenix' antimicrobial coating proves effective

Denver USA-based Ceragenix Pharmaceutical says that in vitro data from studies of its novel antimicrobial device coating, Ceracide, shows the drug was highly effective, when challenged in separate experiments by Staphylococcus aureus and Eschericia coli, in preventing bacterial colonization on titanium surfaces and in eradicating bacteria in the surrounding fluid. The data was presented at the American Society of Microbiology's annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, held in Washington DC as part of the firm's poster sessions on its cationic steroid antibiotic technology.

Ceracide, which is a development-stage product, is based on technology developed by Paul Savage, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Brigham Young University, in Idaho, USA. The product mimics naturally-occurring small-molecule antimicrobial peptides that form part of the body's innate immune system. The company believes that Ceracide can be firmly attached to medical devices, thereby conferring the ability to prevent bacterial colonization, and added that it intends to undertake long-term studies of the product to assess its efficacy.