Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, oncology and respiratory diseases, has expanded its collaboration with the US Government to include the evaluation of Restanza's activity against sexually transmitted infections (STI's), such as gonorrhea. Under the expanded agreement, Restanza's in vitro activity against Neisseria gonorrhoeae and other key STI's will be assessed, with the potential to advance Restanza into clinical development in government-sponsored clinical trials.

The activity of Restanza has been evaluated against 148 N. gonorrhoeae isolates and demonstrated significant in vitro activity as measured by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC), the lowest concentration of an antimicrobial that will inhibit the visible growth of a microorganism. Restanza was comparable in activity to azithromycin and ciprofloxacin and superior to erythromycin and clarithromycin, the antibiotics commonly used to treat gonorrhea infections.

"We believe that Restanza has demonstrated significant promise as a potent treatment for gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted infections and we are excited to expand our partnership with the US Government beyond biodefense to further explore its therapeutic activity," said Dr Michael T Flavin, chief executive officer. "Conventional antibiotic approaches are proving to be ineffective against drug-resistant strains of gonorrhea, thus increasing the urgent need for new antibiotic interventions to combat this growing global public health threat. Restanza's broad activity against community-acquired, bioterror and other bacterial pathogens make it an ideal candidate for government-supported development. We look forward to partnering with the government to address this important health challenge."

Restanza is a novel, once-a-day, oral antibiotic that is in late stage development for the treatment of adults with mild-to-moderate community-acquired pneumonia (CABP) and biodefense pathogens.

Advanced Life Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, cancer and respiratory diseases.