Pneumonia remedy could have anti-bioterror use

An antibiotic that an Illinois biotech company hopes to market to fight pneumonia will also undergo government-backed testing as a possible weapon against bioterrorism, the company said yesterday. The Chicago Tribune reports that Cethromycin, which is in late-stage clinical trials as a pneumonia treatment, has also shown effectiveness against anthrax, tuleremia, and plague, said John Flavin, president of Woodridge, Illinois-based Advanced Life Sciences. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has agreed to test the antibiotic against several pathogenic strains that might be used by bioterrorists, he said.

Earlier this year, tests showed that cethromycin was 100 percent effective in preventing death in monkeys exposed to anthrax. The institute will use government funds to test the antibiotic’s efficacy as part of the process used to determine what drugs the government will stockpile for homeland security, said Flavin. “The government is looking for one drug that can treat a broad range of infectious agents,” Flavin said. Originally developed by Abbott Laboratories, cethromycin was licensed to Advanced Life Sciences in 2004.