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

Meropenem Dosing for VAP: High + Prolonged Beats Conventional Dosing

Sometimes an article pops up addressing a question we have been mulling over for quite some time.  It so happened with a recent publication which shed new light on penem dosing for ICU patients[1]. Conducted at a single Belgian centre (sic!), a standard dose of meropenem (1 g IV q8h Continue reading Meropenem Dosing for VAP: High + Prolonged Beats Conventional Dosing

Some Thoughts about Eravacycline Based on the Phase 2 cIAI Study

Solomkin et al. conclude that the efficacy and safety of eravacycline compares favorably to the control drug, ertapenem.[1]  This top-level assessment is made with the usual caveats (insufficient statistical power, small sample size), but a few points deserve comment. Eravacycline is a fluorocycline; as a tetracycline derivative it follows into Continue reading Some Thoughts about Eravacycline Based on the Phase 2 cIAI Study