Nosocomial Gram Negative Pneumonia

Pneumonia, due to gram-negative enteric bacilli, is a serious, live threating disease, with a high crude (20-60%) and attributable (10-20%) mortality rate. Gram-negative bacterial pneumonias almost always occur in people who are hospitalized or who live in nursing homes; they rarely infect the lungs of healthy adults. Gram-negative bacteria are a common cause of pneumonia in people who are on ventilators (breathing machines used in intensive care units). Other people at risk are infants, the elderly, alcoholics and individuals with chronic diseases, especially immune system disorders.

Pneumonia is the second most frequent hospital-acquired infection with ~300,000 cases occurring per year. In the United States, the estimated annual cost of nosocomial pneumonia, due to gram-negative bacilli, is greater than $1 billion.

Zysolin – a polymeric nanoparticlulate formulation of Tobramycin

Tobramycin has been widely used in the treatment of gram-negative and some gram-positive organisms. As with other aminoglycosides, use is limited by risk of toxicity. In vitro tests have shown Tobramycin to be active against Enterobacter aerogenosa, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella, Shigella and Staphylococcus species. Zysolin is specifically formulated to improve the intracellular activity of Tobramycin - to increase the drug concentration of tobramycin inside human macrophages, thus improving its antibacterial activity against intracellular Klebsiella, Pseudomondas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus in pneumonia patients. In the biodefense arena, Zysolin is intended for the treatment of pneumonia caused by Francisella tularensis (rabbit fever) and Burkholderia cepacia (cystic fibrosis).