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Invanz

Ertapenem is a carbapenem marketed by Merck as Invanz®. It is structurally very similar to meropenem in that it possess a 1-β-methyl group. more...

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Indications

Ertapenem is designed to be effective against Gram negative bacteria. It is not active against MRSA, ampicillin-resistant enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter species. Ertapenem also has clinically useful active against anaerobic bactera.

Ertapenem is marketed by Merck as first line treatment for community acquired infections. It should not be used as empirical treatment for hospital-acquired infections because of its lack of activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In practice, it is reserved primarily for use against ESBL-producing and high level AmpC-producing Gram negative bacteria.

Dosing

Ertapenem is dosed as 1g given by intravenous injection over 30 minutes, or 1g diluted with 3.2ml of 1% lignocaine given intramuscularly. There is no oral preparation of ertapenem available. Ertapenem cannot be mixed with glucose.

The marketing slogan for ertapenem is "The Power of One", because the dose is one gram, once a day.

Pharmacokinetics

Unlike imipenem and meropenem, ertapenem is highly protein blound, which explains its long half life (4 hours).

Renal and hepatic dosing

Ertapenem is excreted primarily (80%) by the kidneys. Metabolism by the liver is not clinically important and does not affect dosing.

Patients on haemodialysis should be given ertapenem at least 6 hours before dialysis. If it is given less than six hours before dialysis, then the patient should be given an additional dose of 150mg IV after dialysis. Ideally, patients on haemodialysis should be given ertapenem immediately following dialysis.

Adverse effects

There are few adverse effects of ertapenem. The only absolute contra-indication is a previous anaphylactic reaction to ertapenem or other β-lactam antibiotic. There are no studies done in pregnant women, so the manufacturers cannot comment on its safety in pregnancy. There are no studies in children, and therefore there is no license for use in children aged under 18 years of age.

Use of all antibiotics is associated with increased rates of resistance (although carbapenem resistance is currently rare). There is particular worry that although ertapenem has no clinically useful activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, widespread use of ertapenem could still lead to increased carbapenem resistance in Pseudomonas (Livermore 2005).

Like all antibiotics, C. difficile colitis has been associated with its use.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


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Enanta Pharmaceuticals Appoints Yujiro Hata to Vice President of Business Development
From Business Wire, 10/23/02

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. (www.enanta.com), a leading drug discovery company that focuses on transforming existing drugs, natural products and biologically-active peptide leads into small molecules with improved pharmacological properties has named Yujiro Hata as Vice President, Business Development. In his new position, Mr. Hata will lead the Company's worldwide business development initiatives with the biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

"Yujiro joins Enanta at an opportune time in our company's development, and we are excited to add such a brilliant and accomplished individual to our management team," said Spiros Jamas, President and CEO of Enanta Pharmaceuticals. "He has been successful in sourcing, negotiating and executing strategic alliances and licensing programs from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and it's his level of commitment and ambition that he brings to this strategic role within Enanta."

Prior to joining Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Hata held the position of Senior Director of Corporate Development at Genome Therapeutics. He launched his business development career within the biotechnology industry at ImClone. Mr. Hata also was C.E.O. of eTechtransfer, developers of an enterprise-wide technology solution designed to streamline licensing within life sciences. In his career, he has been intimately involved in the business development of numerous drug discovery programs, including the partnering of Erbitux(TM), the licensing of Phase III antibiotic Ramoplanin, and the management of an anti-infective alliance with Astra-Zeneca. Mr. Hata held consultant positions at McKinsey & Company and Merck & Co., Inc. where he worked on the launch strategy for the antibiotic, Invanz(TM). He obtained his M.B.A. at The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania as a Henry J. Kaiser Fellow, completed baccalaureate studies in Chemistry at Oxford University, and earned his B.A. in Chemistry at Colorado College.

About Enanta

Headquartered in Watertown, Mass., Enanta Pharmaceuticals is using its breakthrough chemistry technology - Drug Morphing(TM) and Peptide Morphing(R) -- to create new intellectual properties by transforming existing drugs, natural products and biologically active peptides into novel small-molecule drugs. The Company is initially focusing on new chemical entities derived from existing drugs that address significant unmet medical needs: (a) new-generation macrolide antibiotics to overcome bacterial resistance; and (b) anti-inflammatory drugs for a variety of indications, including asthma, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Business Wire
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group

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