Pioneering new drug to fight MRSA is given go-ahead in Scotland

Published on Monday 10 March 2008 21:31

A NEW drug to help treat patients struck down by MRSA has been approved for use on the NHS in Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium recommended Cubicin (daptomycin) to treat severe infections caused by the superbug. The decision was welcomed by microbiologists, who said there was still a need for treatments for MRSA, which is resistant to most antibiotics.

Cubicin is one of only two new classes of antibiotics to be developed in the past 20 years.

It has been recommended for use in MRSA patients with heart infections and complicated skin and soft-tissue infections. These infections can prove fatal.

Professor Ian Gould, president of the Scottish Microbiology Association, said: "While many strategies are leading to a reduction of hospital-acquired MRSA infections, we still need effective treatments.

"Resistance to present MRSA treatments is rising and patients are requiring longer treatment, with poorer clinical outcomes and higher treatment costs.

"Daptomycin's rapid mode of action has the potential to be a very useful and welcome addition to the arsenal in the treatment of these difficult-to-manage infections."

The SMC yesterday also approved drugs to treat Crohn's disease and osteoporosis. Remicade (infliximab) was recommended for children aged six to 17 with the bowel disorder Crohn's.

Aclasta (zoledronic acid) – a once-a-year drug used in post-menopausal women to reduce the risk of fractures caused by osteoporosis – was also approved for NHS use.