Drug Found Effective Against Common Drinking Water Parasites

Immtech International Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced a new drug, DB-075, is entering human clinical trials later this year to treat diarrhea caused by Cryptosporidium parvum. DB-075 also was found to be active against Giardia Lambia. Immtech seeks quick Food and Drug Administration approval. Tests at Tufts University revealed DB-075, which is seen as being a broad-based treatment for diarrhea, as being less toxic than current treatments and having good activity comparable to current treatments for Giardia. (No drug exists for the life threatening Cryptosporidium.) The drug stays in the digestive tract where the parasite is found and less than 2 percent of the drug gets into the blood circulation, reducing its toxicity. In the initial metabolism studies, the drug was found bound to the membranes in the digestive tract for several days. As a result, DB-075 could potentially be used for prophylaxis or prevention of diarrhea caused by drinking water, including use as a preventative agent for treating travelers' disease. Tufts University is currently performing more advanced dosing tests on DB-075 for treatment of Giardia. (Source: Immtech International, Inc.)