J&J reports high foot-infection cure rate with experimental antibiotic

New Brunswick, N.J. - Johnson & Johnson says its experimental antibiotic ceftobiprole was found to cure 86 percent of patients with diabetic foot infections, Bloomberg.com reports.

Johnson & Johnson, based here, reported the data at a recent medical meeting in San Diego, Calif. The company says the drug also cured methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.

Johnson & Johnson licenses the drug from Swiss co-developer Basilea Pharmaceutica AG.

Ceftobiprole’s 86 percent foot-infection cure rate compares with 81.8 percent reported for a combination therapy using vancomycin, an approved antibiotic, according to Johnson & Johnson.