Versicor starts Phase II dalbavancin trial

Versicor is to begin a Phase II clinical trial of its novel antibioticdalbavancin (formerly V-Glycopeptide), which it is developing for commercialization in the USA and Canada under a licensing agreement with Biosearch Italia, for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococci. Previous Phase I studies showed dalbavancin to be well-tolerated even at high doses and to have predictable pharmacokinetics, and in vitro studies have shown the drug to be more potent than existing glycopeptides against a range of Gram-positive bacteria.