Trius' mission is to develop Best-in-Class antibacterial drugs for the treatment of infections caused by resistant bacteria. These drugs address the growing unmet need for effective new treatments for healthcare related bacterial infections which afflict over two million patients and result in 100,000 deaths per year in the U.S alone. Our lead program is a novel oxazolidinone antibiotic that entered clinical testing in the U.S. this year. In addition, Trius has generated a pipeline of preclinical antibacterial drug leads directed against validated targets.
Background on Bacterial Infections
Bacterial resistance to existing antibacterial drugs has increased dramatically over the last two decades (see www.idsociety.org). For example, over 50% of the hospital acquired Staphylococcus infections (the most common hospital-acquired infection) are now multiply resistant to the major classes (beta-lactams, quinolones and macrolides) of antibacterial drugs. Infections caused by resistant bacteria are more lethal (over 70% of deaths due to hospital acquired infections are caused by resistant bacteria) and more costly to treat. Consequently, there is an acute medical need for new therapeutic agents that can be used as first line treatments in infectious disease. At Trius, we are aiming to produce the innovative drugs that will have expanded spectrum that includes resistant organisms by inhibiting validated bacterial targets.