Fighting P. aeruginosa (Part II)

At a still earlier stage of development, we found some exciting anti-pseudomonal compounds. First, there is BAL-30072, a sulfactam-derivative.  It has an interesting dual MoA as it works not only as a traditional B-lactam but also as an Fe-chelator blocking bacteria from accessing this essential nutrient [i].  It has very good anti-pseudomonas Continue reading Fighting P. aeruginosa (Part II)

Should Efavirenz Remain a Tier 1 ART Drug?

In a recent publication Raffi et al. suggest that it may be time to drop efavirenz (Sustiva®) from 1st line HIV treatment recommendations [1].  The authors make the claim that efavirenz was inferior to rilpivirin (Edurant®) and dolutegravir (Tivicay®) in a total of 3 recent controlled studies.  They review the CNS side effect profile Continue reading Should Efavirenz Remain a Tier 1 ART Drug?

Fighting P. aeruginosa (Part I)

It has never been easy to cure Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections.  Few antibiotics nowadays have reliable activity against this problem pathogen that seems to have more built-in resistance features than most other Gram-negatives.  In the past, cephalosporins, aztreonam, penems, ciprofloxacin, and aminoglycosides were useful drugs with reliably cidal activity, especially when Continue reading Fighting P. aeruginosa (Part I)