Advanced Life Sciences Holdings Inc, Woodridge, Ill, will form a national advisory board for its promising new pulmonary antibiotic, Cethromycin.

Cethromycin is a broad-range treatment against Gram-positive bacteria associated with respiratory infections, including  penicillin- and macrolide-resistant bacteria  as well as a prophylaxis against inhalation anthrax post exposure.

"Despite the continuing emergence of antimicrobial resistance in important respiratory pathogens, such as the pneumococci, over the last decade we have seen fewer and fewer new agents that effectively address this challenge" said Donald E. Low, MD, FRCPSC, head of the microbiology division at the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto and one of the board’s experts.

Low added, "Cethromycin, a new antimicrobial drug in the ketolide class, may be the solution to this important public health problem, as it has demonstrated a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity and minimal pneumococcal resistance has been observed with this antibiotic class. "

Michael Flavin, MD, PhD, and CEO of Advanced Life Sciences said the board would be instrumental in expediting Cethromycin’s passage through the regulatory and NDA submission process and into the market.