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Fidaxomicin
Fidaxomicin, sold under the brand name Dificid (by Merck) among others, is the first member of a class of narrow spectrum macrocyclic antibiotic drugs called tiacumicins. It is a fermentation product obtained from the actinomycete '' Dactylosporangium aurantiacum'' subspecies ''hamdenesis''. Fidaxomicin is minimally absorbed into the bloodstream when taken orally, is bactericidal, and selectively eradicates pathogenic ''Clostridioides difficile'' with relatively little disruption to the multiple species of bacteria that make up the normal, healthy intestinal microbiota. The maintenance of normal physiological conditions in the colon may reduce the probability of recurrence of ''Clostridioides difficile'' infection. It is marketed by Merck, which acquired Cubist Pharmaceuticals in 2015, and had in turn bought the originating company, Optimer Pharmaceuticals. It is used for the treatment of ''Clostridioides difficile'' infection, which is also known as ''Clostridioides dif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clostridium Difficile Colitis
''Clostridioides difficile'' infection (CDI or C-diff), also known as ''Clostridium difficile'' infection, is a symptomatic infection due to the spore-forming bacterium ''Clostridioides difficile''. Symptoms include watery diarrhea, fever, nausea, and abdominal pain. It makes up about 20% of cases of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Antibiotics can contribute to detrimental changes in gut microbiota; specifically, they decrease short-chain fatty acid absorption, which results in osmotic, or watery, diarrhea. Complications may include pseudomembranous colitis, toxic megacolon, perforation of the colon, and sepsis. ''Clostridioides difficile'' infection is spread by bacterial spores found within feces. Surfaces may become contaminated with the spores, with further spread occurring via the hands of healthcare workers. Risk factors for infection include antibiotic or proton pump inhibitor use, hospitalization, hypoalbuminemia, other health problems, and older age. Diagnosis is b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optimer Pharmaceuticals
Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc was an American biopharmaceutical company, originally headquartered in San Diego, California, and later moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. The company focused on developing specialty drugs to treat gastrointestinal infections and related diseases. In 2011, with Dr. Sherwood Gorbach as Chief Scientific Officer, it received regulatory approval for the first antibacterial drug, Dificid, in 25 years approved to treat certain types of diarrhea (i.e., ''Clostridioides difficile'' induced diarrhea) in adults. But sales of the drug Dificid failed to meet expectations and the drug faced strong competition from cheaper generic alternatives. After declining revenue, the company was acquired in 2013 by Cubist Pharmaceuticals and it operations in New Jersey closed down. History Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was founded in 1998 and registered in the state of Delaware. Corporate and R&D headquarters were located in San Diego, California until 2011. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oral Administration
Oral administration is a route of administration whereby a substance is taken through the Human mouth, mouth, swallowed, and then processed via the digestive system. This is a common route of administration for many medications. Oral administration can be easier and less painful than other routes of administration, such as Injection (medicine), injection. However, the onset of action is relatively low, and the effectiveness is reduced if it is not absorbed properly in the digestive system, or if it is broken down by digestive enzymes before it can reach the bloodstream. Some medications may cause gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea or vomiting, when taken orally. Oral administration can also only be applied to conscious patients, and patients able to swallow. Terminology ''Per os'' (; ''P.O.'') is an adverbial phrase meaning literally from Latin "through the mouth" or "by mouth". The expression is used in medicine to describe a treatment that is taken orally (but not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polyketide Synthase
Polyketide synthases (PKSs) are a family of multi- domain enzymes or enzyme complexes that produce polyketides, a large class of secondary metabolites, in bacteria, fungi, plants, and a few animal lineages. The biosyntheses of polyketides share striking similarities with fatty acid biosynthesis. The PKS genes for a certain polyketide are usually organized in one operon or in gene clusters. Type I and type II PKSs form either large modular protein complexes or dissociable molecular assemblies; type III PKSs exist as smaller homodimeric proteins. Classification PKSs can be classified into three types: * Type I PKSs are large, complex protein structures with multiple modules which in turn consist of several domains that are usually covalently connected to each other and fulfill different catalytic steps. The minimal composition of a type I PKS module consists of an acyltransferase (AT) domain, which is responsible for choosing the building block to be used, a keto synthase (KS) do ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RNA Polymerase Inhibitors
Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are nucleic acids. The nucleic acids constitute one of the four major macromolecules essential for all known forms of life. RNA is assembled as a chain of nucleotides. Cellular organisms use messenger RNA (mRNA) to convey genetic information (using the nitrogenous bases of guanine, uracil, adenine, and cytosine, denoted by the letters G, U, A, and C) that directs synthesis of specific proteins. Many viruses encode their genetic information using an RNA genome. Some RNA molecules play an active role within cells by catalyzing biological reactions, controlling gene expression, or sensing and communicating responses to cellular signals. One of these active processes is protein synthesis, a universal function in which RNA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Resorcinols
Resorcinol (or resorcin) is a phenolic compound. It is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(OH)2. It is one of three isomeric benzenediols, the 1,3-isomer (or '' meta''-isomer). Resorcinol crystallizes from benzene as colorless needles that are readily soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, but insoluble in chloroform and carbon disulfide. Production Resorcinol is produced in several steps from benzene, starting with dialkylation with propylene to give 1,3-diisopropylbenzene. Oxidation and Hock rearrangement of this disubstituted arene gives acetone and resorcinol. Resorcinol is a relatively inexpensive chemical. It is produced in only a very few locations around the world (as of 2010 only four commercial plants were known to be operative: in the United States, Germany, China, and Japan), and is the determining factor in the cost of PRF adhesives. Production in the United States ended in 2017 with the closure of Indspec Chemical's plant in Petrolia, Pennsylvania. Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orphan Drugs
An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent that is developed to treat certain rare medical conditions. An orphan drug would not be profitable to produce without government assistance, due to the small population of patients affected by the conditions. The conditions that orphan drugs are used to treat are referred to as orphan diseases. The assignment of orphan status to a disease and to drugs developed to treat it is a matter of public policy that depends on the legislation (if there is any) of the country. Designation of a drug as an orphan drug has yielded medical breakthroughs that might not otherwise have been achieved, due to the economics of drug research and development. Examples of this can be that in the U.S. and the EU, it is easier to gain marketing approval for an orphan drug. There may be other financial incentives, such as an extended period of exclusivity, during which the producer has sole rights to market the drug. All are intended to encourage development of drugs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drugs Developed By Merck & Co
A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug injection, injection, smoking, ingestion, absorption (skin), absorption via a dermal patch, patch on the skin, suppository, or sublingual administration, dissolution under the tongue. In pharmacology, a drug is a chemical substance, typically of known structure, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. A pharmaceutical drug, also called a medication or medicine, is a chemical substance used to pharmacotherapy, treat, cure, preventive healthcare, prevent, or medical diagnosis, diagnose a disease or to promote well-being. Traditionally drugs were obtained through extraction from medicinal plants, but more recently also by organic synthesis. Pharmaceutical drugs may be used for a limited duration, or on a re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macrolide Antibiotics
Macrolides are a class of mostly natural products with a large macrocyclic lactone ring to which one or more deoxy sugars, usually cladinose and desosamine, may be attached. Macrolides belong to the polyketide class of natural products. Some macrolides have antibiotic or antifungal activity and are used as pharmaceutical drugs. Rapamycin is also a macrolide and was originally developed as an antifungal, but has since been used as an immunosuppressant drug and is being investigated as a potential longevity therapeutic. Macrolides are a diverse group with many members of very different properties: * Macrolides with 14-, 15-, or 16-membered rings and two attached sugar molecules are antibiotics that bind to bacterial ribosomes, the key representative being erythromycin. The term "macrolide antibiotics" tend to refer to just this class. * Some macrolides with very large (20+ membered) rings are immunosuppresants, the prototypical one being rapamycin. * Some 23-membered macrol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
