Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals
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Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCBB: CGXP) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes anti-infective drugs based on its proprietary class of compounds, Ceragenins. Active against a broad range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria, these agents are being developed as anti-infective medical device coatings and as therapeutics for serious antibiotic-resistant organisms.
Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. is an emerging biopharmaceutical company developing headquarted in Denver, Colorado. It develops prescription therapies based on a platform of proprietary surface active technologies—skin Barrier Repair Technology (BRT) and Cerageninis, a new class of broad spectrum anti-infectives.
Ceragenix obtained FDA marketing clearance in April of 2006 for a new treatment for atopic dermatitis (eczema). EpiCeram, is a topical non-steroidal skin care cream based on the research of Dr. Peter Elias for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (eczema). The product is expected to be available sometime in 2007. Atopic dermatitis affects over 15 million Americans and is the most common childhood skin disorder.[citation needed] The U.S. market for atopic dermatitis treatments is estimated to be $1 billion dollars.[citation needed]
Ceragenix's second platform technology addresses the growing threat of multidrug resistant bacterial and viral infections. The Ceragenin anti-infective technology is based on the research of Dr. Paul B. Savage, Professor and Associate Chair of Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU, Provo, Utah). These compounds are aminosterols that mimic the activity of the naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides which form part of the human body's innate immune system and early line of defense against bacterial, viruses, fungi and even certain cancers. The Ceragenins have been the subject of extensive in vitro analysis and have demonstrated a broad range of action against clinically relevant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), tobramycin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PATR), Escherichia coli, vaccinia virus, HIV, and Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) among others. The compounds work by tearing apart the outer membranes of their targets. The compounds are positively charged and are electrostatically attracted to the negatively-charged phospholipids that tend to distinguish prokaryotic from eukaryotic cells. Ceragenix is currently working on developing a wound dressing for medical device insertion points to help reduce the incidence of hospital acquired infections which claim over 50,000 lives each year in the United States.[citation needed]
