Angiotech launches study of catheters coated with non-antibiotic anti-infective

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Jan. 5 - Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it has begun a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of a central venous catheter coated with the drug 5-Flourouracil, a non-traditional anti-infective agent. The company is experimenting with non-antibiotic anti-infectives in order to address increasing antibiotic resistance.

The primary objective of the study is to compare the prevention of bacterial colonization by the Angiotech central venous catheter to that of a leading anti-infective catheter. Other objectives will include prevention of local catheter-related infections or widespread bloodstream infections.

The randomized, single-blind, active-controlled, two-arm clinical study will involve 600 patients at 20 centers in the United States. Following favorable study results, Angiotech said it will request marketing clearance for the product from the Food and Drug Administration.

"The use of 5-Flourouracil as an anti-infective coating to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections is innovative and unique," principal investigator Stephen Heard of University of Massachusetts Medical School said in the release.

"(In vitro) data demonstrate that 5-Flourouracil has antibacterial activity similar to current anti-infective catheter surfaces. We are eager to see if these effects impact catheter colonization and bloodstream infection in patients."

Catheter infections that progress to bloodstream infections, or septicemia, can become life threatening. About 3.5 million central venous catheters are used in the United States annually and lead to 250,000 related infections and an estimated 40,000 deaths, the company said. The cost of caring for these patients may be as high as $56,000 per infection.

Due to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the Centers for Disease Control has discouraged overuse of traditional antibiotics to help avoid the creation of resistant strains and has encouraged the search for alternative anti-infective strategies.

Angiotech said it is actively developing a broad anti-infective platform using non-traditional agents found through its proprietary drug screening process, which consists of screening thousands of approved pharmaceutical compounds and discovering non-traditional applications for their use in local drug delivery in combination with medical devices and biomaterials.

Through this proprietary drug identification strategy, Angiotech has chosen 5-Flourouracil, an FDA-approved drug, as its lead compound.

Angiotech is a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Vancouver that uses the combination of pharmaceutical compounds with medical devices and biomaterials to create novel solutions for poorly addressed disease states and improve surgical outcomes.

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