The 10 x ’20 Initiative – A Retrospective

It started all so well with fanfare and great expectations. Fifteen years ago, the 10 x ’20 initiative got underway. Its goals were spelled out clearly: To ‘Pursue a Global Commitment to Develop 10 New Antibacterial Drugs by 2020 ’[3].  It was driven by ID clinicians and by antibiotic developers concerned Continue reading The 10 x ’20 Initiative – A Retrospective

The EpiPen Episode, an Epitaph on Epinephrine as we know it, an Epilogue and an Epiphany

For a good long time, economists have been thinking about the reimbursement quandary for antibiotics, esp. antibacterials. They are just too cheap, right?  Well, with the exception of HCV and some newer HIV drugs, few compounds have ever reached the stratospheric prices that oncology drugs or TNF alpha inhibitors command. Continue reading The EpiPen Episode, an Epitaph on Epinephrine as we know it, an Epilogue and an Epiphany

Polyphor POL7080 And The Journey to The Land of Pyocyanea  (Part 2)

Roche’s current Phase 2 program is strangely ambiguous. RG-7929 has not made it into www.clinicaltrials.gov yet, only POL7080 is listed. An uncontrolled open label study in “patients with non-CF acute exacerbation of bronchiectasis due to P. aeruginosa requiring IV treatment” is enrolling. Well, good luck finding those patients! At best, Continue reading Polyphor POL7080 And The Journey to The Land of Pyocyanea  (Part 2)