Investment opportunity on fighting against superbugs

Drug-resistant superbugs are "a ticking time-bomb not only for the UK but also for the world," England's top medical official warns in her first annual report, released last week. There is increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics that could turn routine operations into life-threatening procedures if infections become difficult to treat.  Similarly the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is also ringing the alarm bell because a nasty new bug has so far killed half the patients it’s infected. Unfortunately currently there is no incentives for companies to invest in research and development for antibiotic medications. While everyday you may hear some new drugs approved and marketed but shockingly there have been no new antibiotic classes since 1987! So we are now living in a very dangerous world now and every one of us may encounter a superbug with no effective treatment.

That's why I'm delighted to find one small biotech company, which is actively engaged in developing anti-infective drugs.  The company is called Trius Therapeutics (TSRX). Trius is currently working on a fast-acting drug – tedizolid phosphate – for the treatment of serious infections, including Super Bugs like MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which kills 20,000 people a year, more than AIDS, in the US and the same number in the Europe. According to Trius, it has already completed most of the clinical trials required for approval for a new drug with good results. It is currently waiting for the results of another Phase III study by the end of the current quarter. Trius is targeting to file its “new drug application” (NDA) with the U.S. FDA in the second half of this year.

Of course, as betting on any new drug development & approval, it is a risky opportunity and you should be prepared to lose all your money if it fails. But if it is successful, the return could be huge and rewarding. I'm willing to bet for this one.