VENICE, FL-- On the heels of the recent announcement stating a commitment to develop a product to attack MRSA -- the so-called "super bug," SinoFresh HealthCare, Inc. (OTC BB:SFSH.OB - News) announced today the continuation of a series of development activities to implement that commitment. This is a study, which will be in the lab phase by the end of July 2008, and according to Dr. John Todhunter, an outside consultant to SinoFresh, "is expected to give robust proof of concept for the nasal formulation designed to kill MRSA hiding in the nose."
The SinoFresh formulation evolves from a well-established antimicrobial agent which is classed by FDA as "generally recognized as safe and effective" and has been used in other applications for a number of years. The present study follows an in vitro study conducted at Public Health Research Institute under the direction of Dr. Barry Kreiswirth who heads the institute's Tuberculosis Center and Hospital Infections Program, and will be an in vivo study using a well validated model reflecting demonstrated results relative to MRSA colonizing in the human nose. "Efficacy has been proven in a 'test tube' and now we're moving to show MRSA killing properties in a living nose," said Dr. Todhunter, President of SRS International.
MRSA (which stands for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a growing concern in the health care community. It hides in the nasal passages and then gets on the skin where it can cause severe, virulent infections which can lead to disfigurement and sometimes death. It is also highly antibiotic resistant which makes MRSA infections difficult to treat.
According to Dr. Todhunter there is an apparent consensus in the health care community that having a high nasal load of MRSA is associated with increased rates of MRSA infection. Eradication of nasal MRSA colonies is seen as a potentially important weapon in reducing the spread of MRSA. The antibiotic Mupirocin is currently the treatment of choice for reducing nasal MRSA loads. It has become less effective as MRSA resistance to it has emerged. SinoFresh's approach to killing MRSA in the nasal passages is based on the potent ability of the SinoFresh active ingredient as an antimicrobial which destroys bacterial cell walls and membranes. This happens by physical means rather than by an effect on bacterial metabolism which is how antibiotics work. "Since bacteria can in effect change their metabolism to be resistant to antibiotics, but can't very well change the laws of physics, the chances for development of resistance to SinoFresh's nasal formulation is much lower," said Dr. Todhunter.
According to William Wilferth, VP for Research and Development at SinoFresh, "We stated earlier we were going to be very aggressive in the pursuit of MRSA solutions. Our commitment in launching this most recent in vivo study moves us further down that path." Charles Fust, CEO of SinoFresh HealthCare, Inc., stated, "I remain cautiously optimistic in light of published statements on the topic of MRSA, exampled by, the average incremental cost per patient with an acquired infection is $15,275 multiplied by at least 2,000,000 infections indicating possible cost to hospitals of $30.5B, [Clinical Infectious Diseases (v. 36, 2003) 1424-1432], suggests a potentially rewarding market receptive to new alternatives."
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